New Era China Research Tour - Yangtze River Chapter | This Small Mountain Village with "Tidal" Green Tiles | Residential Buildings | Times
Driving to Tudianzi Village, Xinling Town, Badong County, Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hubei Province, located on the south side of the Yangtze River, a stretch of Tujia ethnic characteristic houses with green tiles and mud walls are visible along the road. At first glance, it looks like ordinary traditional houses, but upon closer inspection, there is a world inside. Personalized farmhouse, cliff side barbecue, colorful trails... This once "rustic" small mountain village now attracts tourists with its rural charm.
The picture shows a homestay in Tudianzi Village. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xu Penghang
In the former Tudianzi Village, villagers lived in rammed earth tiled houses, walked muddy roads, and relied on a little thin farmland to make a living. During the period of poverty alleviation, with the support of government departments and resident work teams, the village "two committees" introduced market participants to lead villagers in developing characteristic industries such as black pigs and fruits, gradually removing the poverty hat.
How to make the village more vibrant and make the villagers live better? In 2020, Zhang Wenchan, a cadre born in 1995, came to Tudianzi Village to serve as the Party branch secretary. Based on the advantageous location of the village, which is only half an hour's drive from Badong County, and the mountainous climate with an average altitude of 1200 meters, Zhang Wencan proposes to repair and renovate the houses, combine with the traditional architectural style of the Tujia ethnic group's "green tiles and mud walls", build ethnic minority characteristic villages, and develop the tourism industry.
At first, many villagers didn't understand why mud walls were still needed. Zhang Wenchan said that characteristic residential houses are precious resources and wealth of Tudianzi Village. Through organizing village representatives to visit other characteristic villages and leading party members in demonstration and renovation, villagers gradually understand that today's characteristic residential houses are not traditional adobe houses - garden style courtyards, ethnic and artistic decorations, and modern furnishings complement tradition and modernity.
The picture shows a cultural wall built by villagers using waste materials in the courtyard.
"Look at this cultural wall, it was built by me for the old televisions, discarded wooden ladders, wooden steamers, and other items in the homes of the villagers, symbolizing 'remembering hardships and cherishing sweetness',' rising step by step ', and' thriving day by day '. The hand-painted paintings on the exterior walls here were all drawn by students from the art college, and the content was based on the daily lives of the villagers. When it comes to personalized design in the village, Zhang Wencan is very familiar with it, many of which he helped the villagers plan and design.".
Zhang Wenchan introduced that Tudianzi Village has mobilized villagers to protect and repair characteristic residential buildings. The government has invested 2.5 million yuan in subsidies, driving villagers to invest more than 12 million yuan to complete the construction of 82 characteristic residential buildings in the Wan Group. Among them, the 24 household homestay renovation project in the centralized resettlement area implemented according to the "one house, one courtyard, one field" plan is gradually operating to the outside world, attracting summer tourists to stay. Many villagers have renovated their old houses and turned them into homestays and farmhouses. In addition, the village has also built colorful walkways, outdoor barbecue areas, and cliff restaurants.
Tan Mingxing, a villager who used to work in another province, now returns to his hometown to sell snacks in the village, with a maximum daily income of 12000 yuan. He said that as the appearance of the village improves, the number of tourists naturally increases, and the income of the villagers also increases.
Tourists are having a self-service barbecue in the cliff side barbecue area of Tudianzi Village. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wu Zhizun
"The environment here is good, the scenery is beautiful, and it's also very comfortable to live in a farmhouse." Ms. Wang from Wuhan brought her family to Tudianzi Village for a weekend visit, and also indulged in the self-service barbecue area in the village.
"Next, we plan to continue expanding the reception capacity of homestays, attracting more tourists to visit Tudianzi Village, so that the people can better enjoy the dividends of tourism development." Speaking of the future, Zhang Wenchan is full of confidence.
