A farmer in Anhua county, Hunan province, has spent 20 years building an dirt road linking his village in the mountains with the outside world, Xiaoxiang Morning Herald reported on Wednesday.

Zhou Shiwu, 78, who lives in the village of Zhongxin that is surrounded by mountains, started to build the road in 1994 using 30,000 yuan ($4,940) of his own money. He finally completed an 11.5 km long road from his village to Meicheng, where the villagers buy commodities and agricultural tools, as well as sell their agricultural products.

In 2006, when Zhou earned some more money from weaving baskets of thin bamboo strips, he decided to widen the 11.5-km road to 4.5 m to allow two vehicles to pass at the same time.

In 2013, 4.2 km of the road Zhou built was covered with cement under a government subsidy for development of a tourist spot near the village. Zhou assisted with the project, although it was a county government initiative.

At present, Zhou voluntarily maintains the road and hopes the whole road can be covered with cement, in order to make the road smoother for the villagers.

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