Sanxi village is just 9.5 kilometers from the Nanjiang county seat, but it took nearly five hours to make that journey in 1978 because there was only one path.

Steep and with 1,270 steps, when a farmer wanted to sell a pig at the county seat, he had to ask for help to carry it, and if the path was slippery, sometimes the pig got dropped and died. People also slipped and got injured, Sanxi resident Wang Xianpeng, said.

After reform and opening-up began, Nanjiang began to give priority to improving transportation and now has 6,290 km of roads, 5,776 km of which are in the countryside. Every village is now connected to a road, which facilitates the sale of local produce such as walnuts, selenium tea and honeysuckle, said Yue Xudong, an information officer at the county government.

Nanjiang honeysuckle has obtained geographic certification and is known for clearing heat and toxins from the body, he said.