Green revival reshapes economy of Hubei mountain village

In a bamboo grove in Yanhe village, Gucheng county, Hubei province, rows of stones form an open-air meeting place that villagers call their "People's Great Hall".

Decades ago, when the mountain village could not afford a proper meeting room, residents gathered here to elect village representatives, discuss development plans and set community rules.

It was also here that Yanhe first confronted a fundamental question: how could a village surrounded by mountains make a living without exhausting the forests and streams it depended on?

"The mountains were a constraint, but also our hope. We had to use them the right way," said Min Hongyan, Party chief and village committee director.