NEW YORK, Oct. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- 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.