A view of Ledong Village in East China's Zhejiang Province over the weekend. Photo: Courtesy of Yang Linke

A small, poverty-stricken village in Wenzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province has drawn the level of attention in recent months that few rural areas in the country can dream of, thanks to one of the hottest topics in the technological world: blockchain.

With its eyes on lucrative prospects, Ledong has embarked on an unusual journey to become the world's first "blockchain industrial chain village."

Since the launch of the project in early 2018, changes have emerged, such as handrails with information on blockchain technology and various cryptocurrencies carved into them, a growing number of visitors from as far afield as Shanghai, and a bitcoin theme park in the works.

"You could only see these novel things in Silicon Valley in the past, but now they appear in a remote, poor village," said Yang Linke, the cofounder of Bitcoin China, who launched the project. 

Yang, who is often described as a pioneer for bitcoin in China, said the project, a non-profit effort relying on bitcoin donations, is currently focused on developing blockchain-themed tourism to help the village's impoverished population.

Ledong, which has a population of around 2,300, first thought about relying on blockchain to fight poverty in November 2017, when many in the village got involved in cryptocurrency trade. However, Ledong eventually concluded that the promotion of blockchain culture would be a better path, Lin Xiaozhang, head of the village, told the Global Times on Thursday.

China banned bitcoin trading in September 2017 and shut down  trading platforms. But the government has stressed the importance of developing blockchain technology. Central and local governments have increased support for blockchain over the past two years and have built a good foundation for the technology in China, with more than 40 policies announced in 2018 alone, according to a report released by the China Electronics Standardization Institute (CESI) in December.

However, there are still weak spots such as gaps in knowledge about blockchain, shortage of mature technologies, lack of proper standards, the report noted.

Ledong seems to have made a certain amount of progress in some areas. About 90 percent of the villagers know about bitcoin and there is more interest in blockchain among young people, Lin said.

However, there is still a long way to go before the village can build a complete blockchain industry, which is its long-term goal. 

"We are at a point where concept verification is transitioning toward exploratory application," Li Ming, director of the Blockchain Research Department at the CESI, told the Global Times. "However, the environment for blockchain still needs further improvement."

For Ledong to be a true "blockchain village," it might need more than just theme parks and handrails with blockchain information. Any industrial park needs research and development, talent and promotion, among other things, Li said.