Zhejiang: In the past, "muddy rice fields" villages emerged on the cultural and tourism revitalization road, rural areas | business formats | rice fields "villages emerged on the cultural and tourism revitalization road
Recently, reporters visited Hengshanwu Village in Anji County, Zhejiang Province, where the streets were clean and tidy, and the cultural and tourism industry was rich and diverse. It is a national level demonstration village of beauty and livability, a national key village for rural tourism, and a boutique village for beautiful rural areas in China. Looking back 20 years ago, the four characters "muddy rice fields" were a true portrayal of the village's past.
"Muddy soil" refers to poor village roads, while "rice fields" reflect the single industrial structure of Hengshanwu Village at that time. "In the past, Hengshanwu Village was a typical impoverished village where young people struggled to start a family, villagers had low incomes, and collective debts were high." Cai Mingfu, Secretary of the Party General Branch and Director of the Village Committee of Hengshanwu Village in Lingfeng Street, Anji County, recalled that the village's improvement began with the implementation of the "Thousand Village Demonstration and Ten Thousand Village Rectification" project in Zhejiang Province in 2003.
The muddy road is gone, and the road in Hengshanwu Village is smooth and clean. Photo by Zhang Liwei, a journalist from People's Daily Online
In 2003, taking advantage of the "Ten Million Project", Hengshanwu Village began to improve aspects such as road hardening, garbage collection, sanitation and toilet improvement, and river channel dredging. In 2008, Hengshanwu Village launched an "upgraded version" of beautiful rural construction, creating a "boutique village with beautiful rural characteristics". Within 100 days, the village committee office building was built, and within 40 days, the village kindergarten was built... All improvement projects were accelerated. In 2015, Hengshanwu Village successfully established the "Beautiful Rural Boutique Demonstration Village" in just 8 months. Now, Hengshanwu Village has achieved "hardening roads to the entrance, cultural and sports facilities to the outside, and public transportation to the village head", and the overall environmental appearance of the village has been revitalized.
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In Hengshanwu Village, the creation work took a short time and achieved good results. Behind it is the cohesion of human hearts.
"The villagers have tasted the sweetness and know that the improvement of the village is a matter of benefiting and enriching the people, so their support is very strong. Last year, the village allocated 4.3 million yuan for dividends." Cai Mingfu introduced that now the villagers' support for various work is strong, achieving a transformation from "I want you to do" to "I want to do".
The environment has become beautiful, and Hengshanwu Village has enjoyed a "tourism meal" - developing emerging industries such as tourism and leisure. Here, not only are there playable attractions such as the Countryside Carnival Park and the Shanshui Lingfeng Agricultural Sightseeing Park, but also cultural sites such as the High Style Bear Art Museum and Art Campsite to enjoy.
Nowadays, Hengshanwu Village is livable, suitable for business, and suitable for tourism. Photo by Zhang Liwei, a journalist from People's Daily Online
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Visiting Hengshanwu Village, special homestays and traditional villages are also worth visiting, especially "Xiaoyi Half Day Village". Here, you can see the rebirth of a "hollow village". "Xiaoyi Banri Village" was originally a natural village in Hengshanwu, with only 23 households. After the overall relocation, Hengshanwu Village has achieved a magnificent transformation from a "hollow village" to a "internet famous land" through a series of new measures such as transforming wasteland into a park, villages into scenic areas, rural houses into homestays, villagers into shareholders, and resources into assets.
It is reported that "Xiaoyi Banri Village" has created the first homestay cluster village in China with a new business model of "professional company+street+cooperative+farmers". Here, 19 homestays have been built on 161 acres of land, with a complete range of supporting businesses including libraries, coffee and dessert shops, rural bars, personalized small shops, and artist studios.
The late night cafeteria is one of the local internet celebrity check-in points. Photo by Zhang Liwei, a journalist from People's Daily Online
"We focus on differentiated development, such as 19 homestays with different styles and themes, including parent-child themes, tea tasting themes, reading themes, mountain scenery themes, etc." Chen Gu, the village head of the "Xiaoyi Half Day Village" homestay, introduced that the supporting business model "Late Night Canteen" was transformed from a pigsty. During the May Day holiday in 2023, the daily operating revenue reached more than 40000 yuan. According to statistics, in 2022, "Xiaoyi Banri Village" received over 350000 tourists.
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What is the annual output of a chair in a restaurant? 100000 yuan! This is the answer given by Huang Dong, the owner of the "Huang Mama Family Banquet". In 2003, Huang Dong resigned from his job as a chef in Shanghai and chose to return to Anji to start his own business. In 2018, Huang Dong participated in the landing of the catering supporting project "Huang Mama Family Banquet" in Hengshanwu's "Little Addiction Half Day Village", and embarked on a path to wealth on his tongue. "Although our restaurant is located in the village, the average consumption per customer can reach around 200 yuan, and it is often fully booked during holidays," said Huang Dong.
Villagers start businesses to increase income and live a beautiful life. Photo by Zhang Liwei, a journalist from People's Daily Online
In Hengshanwu Village, "there is work in the fields, classes in the village, and money at the doorstep" has become a reality. In 2022, Hengshanwu Village received a total of 610000 tourists throughout the year, with tourism industry revenue reaching 108 million yuan, village operating income reaching 7.52 million yuan, and per capita income of farmers reaching 55000 yuan. A new picture of village beauty and common prosperity is slowly unfolding.