Just north of the snow-capped Qilian Mountains along the ancient Silk Road lies the city of Zhangye, site of some of China's oldest Buddhist temples and Marco Polo's home for a year.
Its ancient glory has long faded. No longer is it the crossroads of foreign trade. Nor is it a fashionable destination for international travelers as it was centuries ago.
PHOTO: NY TIMES
Like most cities in western China, Zhangye has largely been left behind by the economic prosperity that has transformed China's eastern regions.
With its ailing state enterprises, struggling laid-off workers and few outside investors, this city of 1.2 million exemplifies one of the major challenges facing the Chinese leadership: how to reduce the striking disparity between the booming coastal areas and investment-starved hinterland.
It's a problem the communist leadership has been trying to tackle since it launched its high-profile "Great Western Development" campaign two years ago. The western provinces, stretching from Inner Mongolia in the north to the border with Tibet in the south, account for 56 percent of China's land mass but only a quarter of its population and less than one-sixth of its economic output.
The central government has been pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into building roads, railways and power lines and reforesting ravaged lands -- all in an effort to lure capital and educated workers. But the campaign has been criticized even in the state-run domestic media as having more form than substance.
No amount of infrastructure can overcome the parochial, short-sighted mentality of local officials, critics say. "Although waves and waves of officials have gone to the east [of China] and even overseas for training, it hasn't had much effect," said the China Economic Times in an article about western China.
Similar to most Chinese cities, Zhangye has thousands of workers laid-off by inefficient state-run factories which have either shut down or been privatized.
The municipal government's brainstorm for attracting investors was to build a big, sparkling plaza in the center of town.
Completed last year at a cost of more than US$3 million, it has squares of smooth slate alternating with patches of grass watered by automated sprinklers. In the evenings, soothing classical zither music is broadcast over loudspeakers.
Locals derisively say it is a nice place for all the unemployed workers to pass the time.
At the northern end of the plaza is a massive billboard showing President Jiang Zemin looking down at the people. Reminiscent of images of Mao Zedong, Jiang is depicted with brush in hand writing the words "Golden Zhangye" against a photo-montage backdrop of a modern gleaming city that is part-Zhangye, part-fantasyland.
Skeptical residents doubt a plaza is going to bring better times.
"If you want to develop the west, you have to have good products," said Zhang Jianming, 38, who was lost his job at a flour products factory after 17 years and now drives a taxi.
Dozens of old, single-story homes and a middle school were torn down to make way for the plaza. It was financed partly by one-time deductions of US$12 to US$35 from workers' monthly paychecks.
When Beijing hosted the Asian Games in 1990, small "donations" were taken from workers' paychecks across the country. Some in Zhangye wonder how much they'll be made to give for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, 900 miles away, even though officials have said ordinary citizens will not be obliged to contribute.
Gansu Province is among the poorest of the 11 provinces and municipalities in what is also known as the "Go West" drive. Development is hampered partly by isolation and long distances.
Although Gansu's capital, Lanzhou, is a mere two-hour flight from Beijing, it takes another hour-and-a half to drive the 30km to town due to mismanagement in building the airport highway, under construction for more than a year. It's another 10 hours by train to go the 515km north to Zhangye.
Workers in bustling Shanghai and Beijing can dream of their child going to college, then going abroad or getting a good job at foreign company. But many in Zhangye have little hope for the future.
For 20 job openings for janitors on the new plaza -- picking up cigarette butts, pulling weeds, mopping -- more than 600 people applied.
Yang Chaogui, a taxi driver, had a steady state job for 20 years working seven hours a day, five days a week in the shipping department of a trading company. "Before I had time to read, watch TV, take care of the house," he said. "Now I start at 6:30 and sometimes I'm not home until midnight. If I earn a few bucks, I can buy some food tonight. I haven't eaten meat in months. Sometimes I have to borrow flour from friends. I'm embarrassed to tell you."
Many have lost faith in officials to do anything but line their own pockets. One disillusioned communist party member said the only reason to join the party is to take bribes..
Even education, generally viewed as the top priority in Chinese families, no longer carries the hope of a better future.
While China has nine years of compulsory education, parents in Zhangye say they are constantly being hit with school fees. Besides the basic fee of US$60 to US$120 every semester, they're made to pay for an ever-growing list of items.
For those children with two unemployed parents, dropping out is often the only option.
Zhang, the taxi driver, is not sure he'll pay for his 12-year-old daughter's education after middle school.
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