VillagerslivinginthetownofZhiliinHuzhouCity,eastChina鈥檚ZhejiangProvince,haveseenmajorchangestakingplaceintheirhometowninrecentyears.Theskyandrivers,theysay,areclearer,andthelandgreenerthanbefore.
LuYunqi,SecretaryofthevillagebranchoftheCommunistPartyofChina(CPC)ofWupu,avillageunderthejurisdictionofZhili,haswitnessedchangesinitseconomicfortunesaswell.鈥淣owthereisnotasinglelow-incomefamilyinourvillage,鈥漢esaid.
AccordingtoLu,fewvillagersareinvolvedinagricultureinthevillagesofZhili,withmostoftheyoungandmiddle-agedpopulationworkinginbigcitieselsewhereintheprovinceoratlocalchildren鈥檚wearmanufacturingworkshops,whileseniorvillagersareengagedinaquacultureandtheprocessingofaquaticproducts,withanaverageannualincomeof40,000yuan($5,870)perperson.
AccordingtoYaoLianhua,DeputySecretaryoftheCPCZhiliTownshipCommittee,since2006,thetownhasacceleratedstepstofosterbeautifulvillages,especiallyundertheguidanceofPresidentXiJinping,whowastheSecretaryoftheCPCZhejiangProvincialCommitteewhenthedrivebegan.
鈥淲ehavemadeeffortsinthedevelopmentofindustriessuitedtolocalconditionsandfocusedonimprovingtheenvironmentsoastofurthercultivateapleasantcountrysideandenhancepeople鈥檚well-being,鈥漎aosaid.
Fishingindustry
LocatedonthesouthbankoftheTaihuLake,thethirdlargestfreshwaterlakeinChina,Zhilihasdevelopeditswater-relatedindustriesinrecentyears.Theareaishometomultiplefish-eries,makingitanidealplaceforaquaculture.Thecrabsandshrimpsraisedonlocalaquaticfarmsareofpremiumqualityandpopularnationwide.
AccordingtoLu,sincethebeginningofreformandopeningupin1978,manyoftheresourcesinhisvillagehavebeensuccessfullyintegrated.Atfirst,thelandwenttowasteasvillagerschosetoinsteadearnalivinginthechildren鈥檚wearindustry,butlaterthearea鈥檚landresourceswereconsolidatedandreallocatedtofishfarmersforaquaculture.
Yet,graduallylocalpeoplerealizedthattheycouldnotmakeseriousprofitsmerelythroughtraditionalfarming.Onlybyelevatingtheaddedvalueofproductsandexpandingtheirbusinessescouldtheyachieveasubstantialincreaseinrevenue.鈥淲eneededtomakeitbiggerinordertogeneratehigherprofits,鈥滾usaid.
WuRongfengfromthevillageofShanglinhasbenefitedfromthisshiftinpolicy.In2000,hecontracted1.2hectaresoffisherywithaproductionvalueof40,000yuanandannualprofitsofover20,000yuan($2,935).Atthestart,heraisedonlythemostcommonfishandfedthemaquaticplantswithoutanyconsiderationofdietaryneedoffish.
However,thingsbegantochangein2010asWubegantakingclassesatalocalagriculturalschool.Afterreceivingspecializedguidance,hebeganraisingthelucrativeChineseperch.InMarch2011,heestablishedhisowneco-agriculturecompanyandregisteredatrademarkunderthenameYudage,whichliterallymeans鈥渂igbrotherfisherman鈥漣nChinese.
鈥淚n2014,wedevelopedamodelthatdoubledourannualproduction,andourprofitshavealsodoubledsincethen,鈥漌utoldBeijingReview.
Today,Wuemploysover20membersofstaff.Inadditiontoanannualincomeof50,000yuan($7,337),theemployeescanalsoearnanend-of-yearbonusbasedonthecompany鈥檚profits.DuringthepeakseasonfromJunetoSeptember,Wuhiresmorethan30temporaryworkers,usuallylocalvillagers.
Wu鈥檚companyadoptsa鈥渃ooperativeplusfarmers鈥漨odel.Thereare53memberhouseholdsinthecooperative,with366.67hectaresoffishpond.Thesehouseholdsalsobecameshareholdersofthecooperative.Morethan500otherhouseholdswithover2,660hectaresoffisherieshavealsobenefitedfromtheoperation.Lastyear,thecompany鈥檚revenueexceeded20millionyuan($2.94million),ofwhich2millionyuan($294,000)wasprofit.
Inadditiontoaquaculture,villagesinZhiliareexploringotherbusinessmodelsbasedontheirnaturaladvantages.Onesuchventureprovingparticularlysuccessfulistourism.
Yigaoisavillagewhichwasoncefamousforsericulture,thefarmingofsilkwormsfortheproductionofsilk.Duringitsheyday,theentirevillagecouldyield150tonsofsilkwormcocoons,butafterthecountry鈥檚economybegantotakeoffinthe1980s,Yigaolaggedbehindduetoitsgeographicremoteness.AstherestofZhilibecamefamousforthemanufactureofchildren鈥檚clothing,YigaoVillagefailedtohitcharideonthecoattailsofthisnewindustry.Localvillagersbegantowonderhowtheycouldrevitalizetheironceproudvillagewithahistoryofmorethan1,000years.
In2016,anancientdrainagesystembesidetheTaihuLake,theLougangIrrigationProject,wasselectedasanexampleofWorldIrrigationProjectHeritage.Yigao,locatedatamajorjunctureoftheprojectanditselfatypicalexampleofLougangculture,seizedtheopportunityandbegantodevelopitstourismindustry.Theancientvillagerestoreditsoriginalappearanceandbegantoattractvisitorsfromaroundthecountry.Thisyear,ithasalreadyreceivedmorethan20,000visits.
Boomingtourismhasbroughtnewopportunities,allowingvillagerstoseeknewemploymentopportunitiesandevenstarttheirownbusinesses.
Stay-at-homeretireeshavebecomewaitersandwaitressesathomestayhotels,earningaround3,000yuan($440)amonth,whileothervillagersrunrestaurantsservinglocalspecialties,whichhavebecomepopularamongtouriststoYigao.
鈥淲ewanttojoinhandswithneighboringvillagesanddeveloptourismtogether.Inthenearfuture,wearegoingtobuildatouristareafocusingonLougangculture,鈥漎aosaid.CustomersbuyChineseperchattheHuzhouWushiEco-AgricultureCo.Ltd.inZhiliinHuzhouCity,eastChina鈥檚ZhejiangProvince,onJune15,2017XINHUA
AworkerchecksthefishinapondinZhiliTownonMay9,2017XINHUAImprovingenvironment
SongSongyuanistheformerheadofWupuVillageandhasbeenfightingawaragainstenvironmentaldeteriorationformanyyears.
In2007,alargebloomofblue-greenalgaeintheTaihuLakecausedthewaterqualitytodeterioratedrastically.ButSonghimselfdiscoveredthatcertaincrabseatthealgae,solvingtheprobleminWupuVillage.Thismethodisstillinusetodayforcleaningwaterwaysandhasbeenadoptedbyothervillagesnearby.
鈥淣owweareenjoyingahappylifeinabeautifulvillage,鈥漇ongsaid.
TheZhiliGovernmenthasalsoworkedhardtoresolveotherwater-relatedissues.By2014,thetownhadcleanedupallpollutedriversinthearea.Twoyearslaterallpoultryfarmscameunderregulationforpollutioncontrol,andthisyearthetownhasbegunenvironmentalgovernanceintheaquacultureindustry.
鈥淭hisyear,weplantoproperlydealwith1,667hectaresofaquaculturewastewater,鈥漎aosaid.
In2014,Wubuilta2-square-kmgreenhouseandbegananaquaculturebusiness.Healsoinvested400,000yuan($58,680)anddesignedasetofwatertreatmentequipmentwhichcaneffectivelyfilterandcleanwastewater.
鈥淲eexpecttobeabletousethesamewaterforadecadeviathewater-recyclingsystem,鈥漌utoldBeijingReview.
In2017,healsoinstalledequipmentatotherfisheriesfortreatingwastewater,withatotalinvestmentof2millionyuan.
Wusaidthatwithbetterwaterquality,fisharelesssusceptibletodiseasesandgrowfasterandhealthierthanbefore,whichinturnhasbroughthimhigherprofits.Heplanstodevelopandaddmoretreatmentandsafetyequipment.
Inadditiontodealingwithwastewater,thetownisalsoseekingtoimprovethequalityofitsdrinkingwater.Inthepast,manyvillagerssourcedtheirdrinkingwaterfromthewatercourse,whichwasofaveragequalitybuttastedbad.Twoyearsago,thegovernmentlaunchedawaterimprovementprojectin13villages.Asaresult,boththequalityandtasteofthelocalwaterhavebeenimproved.
Thegovernmentplanstoinvestmorethan150millionyuan($22million)inimprovinglocalfacilitiestomeettheneedofvillagers.Roadsaretoberenovated,moretreeswillbeplanted,andactivitycentersaretobebuilt.
Yaosaidthatruraldevelopmentisslowcomparedwiththeprogresstakingplaceincities.鈥淲ithsuchbiginvestment,wewanttomakesurethateveryvillagercanbenefitfrompublicutilitiesandenjoyacomfortableenvironment,鈥漢esaid.
CopyeditedbyLaurenceCoulton
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