Reference News Special Draft | "Ten Million Project" 20 Years of Practice Inspiring World Echoes Project | China | Reference News
[Original Title] Providing "China's Plan" and "Ten Million Project" for Global Rural Sustainable Development: 20 Years of Practice Stimulating World Echoes
Wen/He Lingling Fang Wenyu Zhang Xiaojie
Reference News, June 22, 2023, 7th edition
Over the course of five years, approximately 10000 administrative villages were selected from 40000 villages in the province for comprehensive renovation, and around 1000 central villages were transformed into demonstration villages for comprehensive well-off society. In June 2003, Zhejiang Province launched the "Thousand Village Demonstration and Ten Thousand Village Renovation" project, initiating the provincial rural living environment construction action.
For 20 years of perseverance and perseverance, this project in Zhejiang Province has been continuously deepened and iterated in practice, creating thousands of beautiful villages and benefiting thousands of farmers. In the current process of accelerating the integrated development of urban and rural areas, promoting the construction of a beautiful China, and comprehensively promoting rural revitalization, the "Ten Million Project" will further lead the development of rural construction and lay a solid foundation for achieving Chinese path to modernization.
On November 6, 2019, foreign tourists took a group photo in a thousand acre flower sea in Xiaopu Town, Changxing County, Huzhou City.
To benefit Zhejiang, lead China, and influence the world. After conducting in-depth visits to rural areas in Zhejiang and learning about the tremendous changes in mountainous areas over the past 20 years, some international figures believe that the good experience and practices of the "Ten Million Project" have global significance and provide a "Chinese solution" for sustainable rural development worldwide.
Beautiful Countryside Becomes a Golden Business Card for Development
As a pioneer of reform and opening up, Zhejiang Province has close economic and cultural exchanges with foreign countries, and has a certain influence in the international community in areas such as light industry trade, e-commerce, and digital technology. In recent years, the rural landscape of Zhejiang has not only been widely recognized domestically, but also demonstrated its attractiveness internationally. The water towns in northern Zhejiang, the hills in central Zhejiang, and the mountainous areas in southwestern Zhejiang each have their own beauty, and the beautiful countryside has become another "golden business card" for the development of Zhejiang.
Last November, nearly 30 foreign experts, business executives, entrepreneurs, and representatives of overseas students from more than a dozen countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Finland, and South Korea, visited Fuyang District and Tonglu County of Hangzhou, went deep into rural courtyards and fields, watched Yue Opera, tea performances, and learned about intangible cultural heritage such as embroidered shoes, gourd paintings, and Paper Cuttings.
"The city is bustling and bustling, while the countryside is full of vitality." Seeing the clean streets, colorful countryside, and lively cafes, Associate Professor Elsa from the School of Public Administration of Hangzhou Normal University said that this trip to the countryside was surprising.
On May 26, 2019, foreign tourists experienced slow rural life in Shishe Village, Tonglu County, Hangzhou City.
The great grandfather of Indonesian international student Lin Zi is Chinese. The rural scenery and rural life she saw in Zhejiang this time gave her a more intuitive and intimate feeling of traditional Chinese culture and rural life stories told by her elders.
Mehraz Karami, a 30-year-old Iranian youth, has been settling in Qianwu Village, Daixi Town, Wuxing District, Huzhou City for three years, and the villagers here call him "Wangzai". Since studying art in China in 2012, Wangzai has visited many places and ultimately chose to live in rural Zhejiang. He even opened his own painting studio in the village.
"There is fresh air, bamboo sea, and flowing water here, and I really enjoy the life in the village," said Wang Zai. Qianwu Village is not only close to nature, but also has modern work and living facilities. The villagers have good intentions towards foreigners and don't have to make friends intentionally. After a week of getting to know each other, they become like old friends.
On Mogan Mountain in Deqing County, Huzhou City, not far from Qianwu Village, a internationally renowned rural tourism destination called "Yangjiale" has formed. Foreigners from dozens of countries and regions such as South Africa, France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, and Denmark invest in rural China and enjoy "ecological meals", attracting hundreds of thousands of domestic and foreign tourists to come for tourism and vacation every year.
The rural butterfly transformation received praise from the United Nations
On the evening of September 26, 2018, in Manhattan, New York, a farmer named Qiu Lijin from Anji County, Huzhou City, stood on the United Nations podium and told her daily life in simple language.
"I come from a village in Zhejiang Province. 15 years ago, I had to carry a bucket full of dirty water every day and walk far away to pour out sewage. At that time, there were no sewage pipes in my kitchen, no garbage bins in the village, and the river was polluted and black and smelly. Today, the 'Thousand Village Demonstration and Ten Thousand Village Renovation' project has turned our village into a beautiful postcard."
Her speech won warm applause from the whole audience, and the rural governance path from China won world acclaim, inspiring a global response. In 2018, the "Ten Million Project" was awarded the highest environmental honor by the United Nations - the "Earth Guardian Action and Incentives Award".
The United Nations Environment Programme stated that some regions of China have achieved decades of environmental governance achievements from Western countries in a relatively short period of time, demonstrating China's determination and wisdom in promoting environmental governance and building ecological civilization.
"What we see in Zhejiang is the future of China, and even the future of the world!" Eric Solheim, then Deputy Secretary General and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, said during a visit to villages and towns in Zhejiang.
On June 21, 2023, at the square in front of the cultural auditorium in Changgang Village, Heping Town, Changxing County, Huzhou City, local villagers were participating in a competition to lift a burden and walk around obstacles.
At the beginning of the 21st century, the artificial crystal industry in Pujiang County, Jinhua City reached its peak: a county gathered more than 20000 crystal processing workshops. But the ecological environment here has almost reached a dead end: 85% of the rivers in the county have become "milk rivers," "garbage rivers," and "black and smelly rivers.".
The "Ten Million Project" has forced Pujiang County to "iron fisted water control", comprehensively rectify the crystal industry, implement regional planning and access mechanisms for the breeding industry, and participate in the action of eliminating 462 "milk rivers" and 577 "garbage rivers", ultimately making the water towns in Jiangnan clear again.
The number of local crystal enterprises has sharply decreased from 22000 to 526, of which more than 400 have settled in the industrial park to achieve cluster development. Zhang Fumin, founder of Zhejiang Pujiang Jingsheng Crystal Co., Ltd., who has been in the industry for more than 30 years, said, "Over the years, I have watched the river water clear day by day, and the beautiful Puyang River returns to its clear state."
The 2010 Shanghai World Expo, with the theme of "Better City, Better Life," showcased the modern, innovative, and inclusive aspects of Chinese cities, leading them towards the world. Eight years later, the "Ten Million Project" that received the "Earth Guardian Action and Incentives Award" showcased the unique charm and governance effectiveness of Chinese rural areas, enabling them to go global.
The United Nations evaluated Zhejiang's "Ten Million Project" in this way: solidly promoting the construction of beautiful rural areas with significant results, transforming the once heavily polluted black and odorous rivers into clear flowing water, and winning the "Incentives and Actions" category award. This successful ecological restoration project demonstrates that aligning environmental protection with economic development will generate transformative forces.
"Ten Million Projects" Leveraging Rural Revitalization
From reducing extreme poverty to achieving sustainable development and promoting common prosperity, from ecological environment protection and characteristic industry development to multicultural coexistence, rural development remains an important topic in current global governance. Although the world is experiencing widespread and extensive urbanization, rural areas are still the basic type of environment for human settlement, and the relationship between living environment and natural environment is even closer.
At the beginning of this century, the private economy in Zhejiang Province emerged nationwide, but the extensive growth brought overall pressure to the regional environment, resulting in a significant lag in rural construction and social development. According to the Agricultural Office of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee, at that time, there were 4000 villages in the province with relatively good environments, while over 30000 villages had relatively poor environments.
On April 1, 2023, tourists took a small train in Langjia Village, Qingshanhu Street, Lin'an District, Hangzhou to experience the beautiful spring scenery in the rapeseed field.
To curb decades of development inertia, transform economic growth patterns, and establish an ecological civilization concept that pursues harmonious coexistence between humans and nature, from government departments at all levels to business owners, and then to countless households, the most important thing is to overcome the "ideological barrier" and "interest barrier".
How to transform development concepts and adjust development methods, especially in handling the relationship between economic development and environmental protection, tests the wisdom of decision-makers.
The "Ten Million Project" is precisely such an important lever. It starts with solving the problem of environmental pollution and disorder that is strongly reflected by the masses, from road hardening, garbage collection, sanitation and toilet improvement, to non-point source pollution control, rural housing renovation and construction, and then to pilot projects for rural household waste classification and treatment, as well as the protection and utilization of historical and cultural villages; From "demonstration leading", to "overall promotion", and then to "deepening and improving", gradually advancing and achieving long-term results.
This project adopts a pragmatic and gradual approach, focusing on planning first, unifying practicality and artistry, coordinating historicity and foresight, coordinating one-time planning with promoting within one's capacity, grasping the relationship between rectification efforts, construction level, promotion speed, financial capacity, and farmers' acceptance, and not focusing on one village after another, not raising the public's appetite, and not setting goals beyond the development stage.
The 20-year practice of the "Ten Million Project" has created thousands of beautiful rural areas in Zhejiang and also benefited thousands of farmers. According to statistical data, the per capita net income of farmers in Zhejiang Province was 5431 yuan in 2003, and this figure reached 37565 yuan in 2022. It has been leading provinces and regions in the country for 38 consecutive years, forming a virtuous cycle of rural industrial ecology and ecological industrialization. At present, the income gap between urban and rural residents in Zhejiang has decreased to 1.90, which has been narrowing for ten consecutive years.
The development of rural ecology, industry, governance, culture, and other areas is intertwined and cyclical, reversing the decline and driving revitalization. The "Ten Million Project" has chosen the construction of rural living environment as the breakthrough and starting point, leveraging the rural revitalization gears of prosperous industries, livable ecology, civilized rural culture, effective governance, and prosperous living.
The "China Plan" Brings Enlightenment to the World
From 2000 to 2015, many countries around the world adopted the Millennium Development Goals for a period of 15 years; The United Nations subsequently launched the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, proposing 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
As the world's largest developing country, China has taken the lead in releasing country plans and progress reports, adhering to the new development concept and balancing the work in the three major fields of economy, society, and environment.
How to choose between environmental protection and economic development? China's answer is very clear - adhere to the new development concept, and firmly follow the Chinese path to modernization path of harmonious coexistence between man and nature.
The "Ten Million Project" proposed before the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development coincides with the United Nations' philosophy in improving the living environment of villages, actively reducing carbon dioxide emissions, and abandoning development models that damage or even damage the ecological environment.
UN officials believe that in Zhejiang, green development brings "golden mountains and silver mountains", creating a large number of job opportunities, providing more development opportunities for the people, and cherishing their homes more. This model is worth sharing with the world.
"In today's world, there are different models of national governance and global governance, but only a development concept that satisfies the people, conforms to the laws of natural development, and conforms to the spirit of science is the most valuable development concept and the most practical development model." A United Nations official attending the 2018 "Earth Guardian Award" award ceremony commented so.
The sustainable development process of rural areas in China, with the "Ten Million Project" as an important focus, has completed a wonderful docking with the United Nations Sustainable Development Vision. Solheim, who has long been concerned about global environmental protection and sustainable socio-economic development, said that as the world's largest developing country, China is striving to comprehensively improve the rural living environment and make outstanding contributions and demonstrations to achieve the United Nations sustainable development vision.
The construction of rural areas in China has gradually made dirty, messy and poor rural areas more beautiful. However, "beauty" is not enough. China's rural revitalization strategy attaches great importance to the cultivation of rural industries, which has an important enlightening effect on the sustainable development of rural areas around the world - based on industry, there can be lasting vitality. Integrating village environmental improvement with economic development, we will embark on a new path of promoting rural development through urban development, promoting agriculture through industry, and promoting urban-rural integration.
Professor Alistair Boswick from the Institute of Infrastructure and Environment at the University of Edinburgh in the UK believes that the implementation of the "Ten Million Project" demonstrates the feasibility of achieving economic development while significantly improving the environment in rural areas. He believes that China's successful experience will inspire other countries.
