XI'AN: For four years, the residents of the remote Gaojie village, 40 km from the county seat of Qinjian in Shaanxi province, missed the smiles on their faces.

Heavy rains had destroyed the production of dates, the village's main industry. From 700 yuan ($102) in 2003, the villagers' annual per capita income dropped to a measly 100 yuan in 2008. Four ballots to elect the village's committee director had failed.

But then Bai Yitong, a 19-year-old Gaojie girl, took it upon her to bring back the smiles to her troubled village.