LiuZhenchengcheckshisteaproductsinhisshopinWulianCounty,ShandongProvinceAstheChinesesay,afterthebittercomesthesweet.Formigrantworker-turned-entrepreneurZhangLiangfan,thesayingringsespeciallytrue.
OriginallyfromGaokengVillageinsouthChina’sGuangdongProvince,Zhanghadtoleavehisfamilybehindtofindworkintheprovince’scapitalofGuangzhouaftergraduationfromseniormiddleschool.Workinglongandstrenuoushoursasacourier,helivedafrugallifeandsavedwhateverhecouldfromhismodestsalary.
In2015,afteryearsinthecity,hesawachancetoliterallyenjoythe“fruits”ofhishardlabor.ZhangtookhissavingsandexperiencebacktohishomevillageofGaokeng,andtakingadvantageoftheregion’sabundantfruits,launchedhisownonlinefruitshop.“IfoundtheopportunitywhileworkingasacourierinGuangzhouandmyworkingexperiencehastaughtmetheknowledgeofmanaginganonlinestore,”hesaid.
Zhang’sstoryisnotanisolatedcase.Heispartofthethousandsofmigrantworkerswhohavereturnedtotheirhomevillagestobecometheirownboss.ThisrisingphenomenoninChinaiscalledchenggui(literately“thosereturningfromthecity”),who,asoflastyear,numbered4.5million,accordingtotheMinistryofAgriculture.
Withthesupportofgovernmentmeasures,theseformermigrantworkersreturnhomewithluggagefilledwiththeirrichprofessionalexperienceandknow-how,andhavebecomeanimportantenginedrivingthedevelopmentoftheruraleconomy.
Newkindofdividend
Inrecentyears,theproductionofmanyoriginallymade-in-Chinaproducts,suchasshoesandclothing,hasbeenmovedtocountrieswithlowerlaborcostlikeVietnamandIndonesia.SomeobserversevenannouncedthedeclineoreventhedisappearanceofChina’sdemographicdividend.
However,LiYining,EconomistatPekingUniversity,disagrees,notingtheriseofanewkindofdemographicdividend.“Chinahasenteredaperiodofheightenedeconomictransition,andasChina’slabormarketreformisgainingmomentum,anewdemographicdividendisemerginginruralareas,”hesaidattheAnnualConferenceofChina’sEconomy,whichtookplaceinBeijinginDecemberlastyear.
AccordingtoLi,thechengguiareimportantforthisnewdemographicdividend.Inthelate1980s,alargenumberoffarmersinChinaleftthecountrysidetoearnalivinginboomingcities.Butstartingfrom2010,moreandmoreofthemarefindingtheirwaybacktothecountrysidewhilechasingtheirentrepreneurialdream.
LiuZhencheng,34,issuchachengguiinWulianCounty,ShandongProvince.Threeyearsago,hecamebackfromJinan,capitalofShandongProvince,andlaunchedhisownteacompany,whichquicklygainedanexcellentreputationintheregion.
“Eventhoughourteafactoryisnotverylarge,westillstrictlyfollowtheEuropeanCEstandard,whichisverystrictintermsofproductquality,”hetoldChinAfrica.“Myparentshavebeentradingteaforyears,butduetoourtraditionalproductionmethods,thevolumeofproductionisverylimited.Ihopethatmoreconsumerswillbeabletoenjoyourhigh-qualityteainthefuture.”
Today,Liu’scompanyproducesnotonlydifferentvarietiesoftea,butalsojujubejuice,vegetablesandotherlocalspecialties.Theworkforcecomesfromneighboringvillages.Tohelpliftsomevillagersoutofpoverty,Liualsohirespeoplelivingwithdisabilities.Heplanstobuildahotelandarestaurantnearhisfactorytofurtherdevelopgreentourism.
QiQiuzhong,afarmerfromKaixianCountyinsouthwestChina’sChongqingMunicipality,lefthisfamilytoworkasaconstructionworkerinthebigcity.NowbackinKaixian,heestablishedhisownmushroom-growingbusiness.Hisentrepreneurialbethaspaidoff:QinowexportshisproducetoregionsandcountriessuchasHongKongandJapan,recordingannualsalesworthmorethan40millionyuan($5.7million).
LiuandQiarejusttwoexamplesamongmanyothersofchengguithatmadeitbig.“Halfofhigh-endagriculturalprojectsinChinahavebeenputinplacebychenggui,”saidCuiChuanyi,anagriculturalresearcherattheResearchandDevelopmentCenteroftheStateCouncilofChina.
Challengestoovercome
Withthisnewtypeofentrepreneursmakingtheirplaceinthecountryside,thenumberofnewsmallandmedium-sizedbusinessesisincreasingatarapidpace,rangingfrommotorcyclerepairshopsaroundtouristareastobio-productfarmsornurseriesontheoutskirtsofcities.Butthisimageofboomingprosperityhidesmanythornychallenges.
Lackofaccesstofinanceisastumblingblockforruralentrepreneurs.Insomeregions,ayoungfarmerwholauncheshis/herownbusinesscanonlygetloansifanofficialoremployeewithastableincomeagreestoactastheguarantor.Formanyfarmers,findingsuchaguarantorhasproventroublesome.
Howtodeliverproducetotheconsumershasbeenanotherchallenge.“Forme,moneyisnotthebiggestproblem,”saidLiu.“ButIneedmoredistributionchannels.PeopleinChinaareusedtoconsuminglocaltea,butitisdifficulttopromoteourteainotherprovinces.”
LiuexhibitedhisproductsinseveraltradeshowsinZiboandJinancities,ShandongProvince,andmanagedtoattractalocalfollowingofloyalcustomers.Buthiseffortstobreakintothenationalteamarkethaveyettoyieldanyresults.
Ahelpinghand
Facedwiththesedifficulties,China’sCentralGovernmenthasadoptedaseriesofmeasurestoencouragethesemigrants-turnedentrepreneurs.InJune2015,theStateCouncilissuedaguidelinethatallowsruralentrepreneurswhomeetcertainconditionstoreceivesubsidiesorapplyforpreferentialloans.
Liudirectlybenefitedfromthesemeasures.In2016,herentedtheuserightofalargeplotofunusedlandonamountainnearhisvillagetoproducenewvarietiesofteaanddevelopgreentourism.Thisexpansionentailedseveralconstructionworks,includingbuildingaroadandrepairingalakedam.
“Thisprojectwillbringbenefitstothelocalpeople.Whenalltheworkisdone,thegovernmentwillgrantussubsidiesifwemeettherequiredstandards,”hetoldChinAfrica.
AsforZhangLiangfan,hisfruitbusinessisgrowingfast.Histeamnowhasmorethan20people,mostofthemyoungpeopleintheir20s.Usingtheire-commerceplatform,theyselllocally-producedfreshandsweetfruitsthroughoutChina,whilefuelingthelocaleconomy.
Commentsto
Chinahasenteredaperiodofheightenedeconomictransition,andasChina’slabormarketreformisgainingmomentum,anewdemographicdividendisemerginginruralareas.
LiYining,Economist,PekingUniversity
LiuZhenchengpromoteshisteawithtraditionalteaperformanceCOURTESYPHOTOS