Taixing, Jiangsu: A Beautiful Rural Practice in a Small Riverside City
"If you work at home, you can earn 3000 or 4000 yuan a month, and you are happy and at ease." Entering Pengcheng Egg Cooperative in Kailu Village, Fenjie Town, Taixing City, Jiangsu Province, Gu Jianlan, 55 years old, cleans the eggshells expertly. After preliminary sorting, these eggs will be processed into Tea egg and Salted duck egg, and delivered to consumers through new sales modes such as live broadcast, community group buying, etc.
In Taixing, ecological livability, effective governance, and prosperous industries are essential elements in creating a comprehensive rural revitalization landscape, such as environmental improvement to create beautiful countryside, rural governance to promote rural civilization, and rural industries to drive farmers to become prosperous. In 2022, Taixing City achieved a per capita disposable income of 29799 yuan for rural residents, a year-on-year increase of 7.7%, ranking first in Jiangsu Province. Agricultural and rural work continues to rank first in the province, and the practice of harmonious rural areas in this small riverside city is underway.
The clean and tidy village courtyard of Guozhai Village. Photo by Wang Dandan from People's Daily Online
Beautiful rural environment
"In the depths of Ginkgo biloba, there is the Wa family, and the countryside is no worse than the city." In Guozhai Village, Xuanbao Town, this is a slogan passed down by the villagers and a true portrayal of a happy life.
Entering Guozhai Village, houses are located on both sides of the wide and clean road. Every household has a small courtyard at their doorstep, and the scenery is full of greenery. A beautiful and pleasant rural scenery is fully displayed before our eyes. But in the past few years, the scene in the village was not like this.
The cement road leading into the village used to be a dirty and messy pond, which was widely recognized by the villagers as a major problem.
"The pond used to be dirty and smelly, not far from my house." 81 year old villager Zhang Zhushan witnessed the transformation of the village environment with his own eyes. "The pond has become a wide cement road, and the dry toilets at the entrance have also been renovated. The village has really changed a lot!"
Along the way of Zhang Zhushan's house, you will see a river resembling a guillotine by the roadside. The water is clear and the banks are green. This is the Happy River of Jiandao Wang, which is also a key project for environmental renovation in Guozhai Village this year.
"It is the mother river that nurtures the children of Guozhai, as well as the hero river that contains the red gene. During the Liberation War, the first battle of the" Seven Wars and Seven Victories "in Central Jiangsu was fought here. Liu Jie, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Xuanbao Town, introduced that since the beginning of this year, Guozhai Village has invested more than 1.5 million yuan in the construction of the Happy River and Lake, creating scenes such as red waterways, red boats, Liu Boqi's former residence, leisure squares, and river landscape greening.".
In recent years, Guozhai Village has made village environmental improvement one of the key tasks in rural areas, focusing on promoting various work such as improving rural housing conditions, road construction, garbage classification, river cleaning, and dry toilet renovation. The rural landscape has been revitalized. Guozhai Village has also been awarded titles such as National Forest Village, National Ecological and Cultural Village, and National Level Fifth Batch One Village, One Product Demonstration Village.
Improving the rural living environment is a tough battle to implement the rural revitalization strategy. At present, Taixing has improved the housing conditions in rural areas by 1804 households. Since the beginning of this year, it has dealt with 2678 environmental issues in various villages, built and renovated 10135 rural toilets, achieved full coverage of sewage pipelines in the built-up areas of towns, completed the construction of 35 ecological river channels in rural areas, covering 68 kilometers. The coverage rate of rural ecological river channels is 52%, and a total of 8 provincial-level characteristic rural areas have been created.
The "Points Supermarket" in Tengxing Village is filled with prizes. Photo by Wang Dandan from People's Daily Online
Farmers are happy and spiritually rich
"My home is number one, can you exchange it for a water purifier?"
"My family also has hundreds of points, I want to exchange them for daily necessities!"
In the "Points Supermarket" in Tengxing Village, Fenjie Town, the redemption counter is filled with household items such as laundry detergent, paper towels, and cooking oil. Villagers on the list are using their points to exchange for prizes.
The points supermarket is located within the Tengxing Village New Era Civilization Practice Station. In 2022, the village will integrate resources such as party building funds, social donations, and assistance funds, establish a rural culture and civilization fund, implement a "one contract, one point, one ranking" civilization practice point management system, and use "small points" to leverage the rural "big civilization".
"The 'Moral Evaluation Committee' is formed by members of the village's' Two Committees' team, party member representatives, village representatives, central household heads, grid workers, and 'Five Elders' volunteers to form a form of village autonomy. 20 items, including environmental hygiene, changing customs and traditions, civilized creation, and volunteer services, are included in the family civilization score card assessment system, and on-site evaluations are conducted twice a year. Yang Junjian, the Secretary of the Tengxing Village Party Branch, introduced that' dividing by division 'guides villagers to abide by village rules and regulations, transform' family affairs' into 'family affairs', guide villagers to improve and cultivate good social customs.".
Rural revitalization requires both shaping and shaping the soul. While continuously improving the "hard power" of rural construction, each village gradually enhances the "soft power" of rural governance. The small points in Tengxing Village have brought about significant changes, and the civilized living habits of the villagers are quietly changing.
"There are two households in the village, with prominent disputes and conflicts. They even argued for more than a year due to the construction of rural roads. At the end of last year, they saw other villagers all on the 'points celebrity list'. This year, the two families took the initiative to resolve conflicts and strive to become 'star rated civilized households'. Yang Junjian said that since the implementation of point management, similar situations have not been uncommon, and the enthusiasm of the masses to participate in activities such as civilization creation, civilization practice, and civilization cultivation has greatly increased.".
According to the person in charge of the Civilization Office of Taixing City, village rules and regulations have become a powerful tool for the construction of rural civilization. 20 people in Taixing have been elected as "good people in China", 2600 households have been recognized as "civilized demonstration families" in Taixing City, and more than 6000 people have been selected as "grassroots models".
Yu Lanzhen, a villager from Qixiang Village, is making pancakes in the central kitchen of the farmhouse. Photo by Wang Dandan from People's Daily Online
Rural revitalization and strong industries
"This is the 132nd cake I made today!" Yu Lanzhen, a villager in Qixiang Village, Huangqiao Town, smiled as she poured oil into the pot. After the oil was hot, she poured the mixed batter into the pot, repeatedly flattened the dough with a shovel, and then sprinkled a layer of sugar. A thin Shaobing (Baked cake in griddle) came out of the pot.
Yu Lanzhen is 75 years old this year and has been working in the central kitchen of Qixiang Village farmhouse for 7 years. She said, "It's very close to home here, with an average monthly income of over 4000 yuan."
Entering Qixiang Village, the first things that come into view are the Youth Comprehensive Practice Base, Rural Grassroots Cadre Training Base, and Vocational New Farmers Training Base; Further ahead is the National 3A level Xiaonanhu Scenic Area, surrounded by amusement facilities such as a racecourse, go karts, and dragon boats; On both sides of the road are planting bases for fragrant lotus and taro, as well as breeding bases for chickens, ducks, and geese; Turning around the village, you can see many homestays, each with its own unique features in the middle, high, and low end homestay buildings
Qixiang Village, now known for its research and training industry, has been listed as a poverty-stricken village for 11 consecutive years. In 2001, Ding Xueqi was elected as the director of the village committee. Qixiang Village has achieved four industrial upgrades: characteristic industries, efficient agriculture, rural tourism, and research and training, and has since become a well-known rural tourism key village.
Currently, Qixiang Village receives 148000 training sessions annually for party members, cadres, professional new farmers, and primary and secondary school students. It has received a total of 800000 training sessions from both inside and outside the province, ranking first in terms of village training scale in the country. Thanks to the development of industries in the village, like Yu Lanzhen, most villagers have achieved employment at their doorstep.
It is understood that the land transfer rate in Qixiang Village is over 95%, and villagers can receive an annual land transfer income of 1000 yuan per acre. Those who participate in vegetable greenhouses or work in enterprises can earn an annual income of about 20000 yuan per person, and each household can also receive a dividend of about 1000 yuan through cooperative shares. Many farmers also increase their income by renting out excess houses and selling agricultural products.
"Relying on characteristic leading industries, Qixiang Village fully explores the diverse functions and values of agriculture and rural areas, promotes the integrated development of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries, and expands the channels for increasing farmers' income." Fan Mao, the first secretary of Qixiang Village, said that in 2022, the village's collective operating income reached 3.82 million yuan, and the per capita disposable income of farmers was 31848 yuan. The village's collective income and per capita disposable income of farmers increased by 11 times in 10 years.
Agricultural projects inject the source of power into the prosperity of Qiangzhen Xingcun. According to Gu Feng, Deputy Director of the Agriculture and Rural Bureau of Taixing City, in the past three years, a total of 147 agricultural projects have been attracted, including 43 projects worth over 100 million yuan. The number and investment amount of major agricultural and rural project construction projects have remained the first in the province for many years. In 2022, the sales revenue of agricultural leading enterprises at or above the municipal level in the city reached 26.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18.6%.
