The promotional video introducing the South China Historical Trail made its 
debut at the Times Square, New York, on October 17, the International Day for 
the Eradication of Poverty and the Chinese National Poverty Relief Day. 

Stretching roads, ancient wells, tea fields, guest houses, Cantonese cuisine, 
sports events and various other elements of the Cantonese culture will be 
presented in the video released by the Department of Natural Resources of 
Guangdong Province, showing the then and now of this historical trail and 
offering a taste of the Cantonese history and culture.

This video features ecosystem, mobilization of resources, and targeted poverty 
alleviation alongside the South China Historical Trail. Through introducing the 
green elements of culture, sports, tourism and agriculture, it advocates the 
idea of "Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," and reveals to 
the world the great success of Guangdong in rural poverty alleviation.

The South China Historical Trail dates back to the Qin Dynasty (221 BC to 207 
BC). It used to be a major route for ancient Chinese people to travel and trade 
between the Central Plains and the Lingnan region in the south of the Five 
Ridges, and it is an extension of the maritime silk road to the inland. 

Guandong has completed the restoration of a backbone network of the South China 
Historical Trail, covering 18 roads of 1,200km across 18 municipal cities and 
31 counties (including county-level cities and districts). Among the 18 roads, 
the Conghua Trail, the Zhuhai-Zhongshan Trail, the Mount Luofu Trail in Huizhou 
and the Gaotan Trail are distributed within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao 
Greater Bay Area. Sports and cultural events held on these ancients routes have 
attracted an increasing number of youngsters from the local region, bonding the 
Greater Bay Area together and stimulating its development.

Within Guangdong, the South China Historical Trail passes 21 municipal cities, 
involving a vast area of less-developed countryside. The province connects 98 
villages in poverty (as verified at the province level) and 104 featured 
villages with country roads, and sorted out 250 destinations of culture and 
humanity interests, forming a museum of nature and history which is always open.

By throwing events of sports, cultural retention and creativity, the villages 
become icons of resource utilization and cultural heritage one after another, 
and some precious yet disappearing traditions are discovered and protected. The 
local communities have been able to build a quality tourist route and extend it 
into multiple featured routes later. Farmers alongside the trail are encouraged 
to apply for national geography trademarks for their agricultural products, and 
infrastructure has been improved. Through resources mobilization and targeted 
poverty alleviation, the South China Historical Trail has driven a strong 
momentum into the rural revitalization and added a growth pole to Guangdong.

Source: The Department of Natural Resources of Guangdong Province