A group of volunteers from 12 countries and regions ran for the 29th rotating mayor of Danzhai Wanda Village in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture, Guizhou province on Feb 6.
The volunteers are from a joint CSR (corporate-social-responsibility) program by Wanda Group and AIESEC (des Etudiants en Sciences Economiques et Commerciales), which aims to increase familiarity with Danzhai Wanda Village as a major project under Wanda's poverty alleviation program.
During the campaign, the volunteers were divided into three groups to compete with each other through a reality show hosted by Wanda Group. They had to accomplish a series of tasks, including an Amazing Race, a Food Competition for Raising Funds, Being a Tourist Guide for Danzhai, and Composing a Song for Danzhai.
The Amazing Race required them to find certain places hinted at by the given riddles and be scored in designated tasks. Traditional Chinese arts, especially Guizhou unique cultures, were involved in the tasks, such as Chinese New Year paper-cutting, drinking in a way of the Miao ethnic group and learning the Pheasant Dance, which originated in Danzhai.
During the Food Competition for Raising Funds, the volunteers were asked to cook in their hometown styles with Danzhai local recipes. Their dishes were tasted and assessed by the tourists in the village.
When acting as a tourist guide, volunteers had to give correct directions to tourists on their own. For the song contest, they were not only required to compose a song for Danzhai but to produce a music video of the song as well.
Junaid Khan, a foreign student from the Sun Yat-sen University, was elected as the 29th rotating mayor due to his presentation stating clear target audience categories and comprehensive suggestions in terms of international marketing and tourist management of Danzhai.
Junaid Khan said that they will try to promote the globalization of Danzhai through dozens of measures, including organizing international visits to Danzhai, teaching locals English and advertising Danzhai through Google and Youtube.
The winning mayor will organize all the volunteers to work for the next three days in Danzhai Welfare House and Danzhai Nursing House.
Through helping secure jobs and developing the tourism industry, the village has seen a decent increase in income for locals, furthering its poverty-relief program.
