Paths towards moderately prosperity: A brand new image of rural Tianjin
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Some special villages within the municipality of Tianjin are striving to build prosperous eco-friendly industries with effective management.

Mountain beauty

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Scenic spot Xiyawantiao, or “looking into the distance from the west cliff at dusk,” in Xijingyu Village, Yuyang County of Jizhou District, Tianjin. (Photos: Xinhua)

Xijingyu Village in Yuyang Township of Jizhou District, Tianjin, also known as the “Stone Village,” is known for stony buildings standing against luxuriant mountains connected by stony paths.

The tempting view has attracted visitors to the village.

“We’d never imagined how good tourism in the village would become,” said Zhou Weidong, Party secretary of the village of Xijingyu.

In a nearby mountain, the site of excessive mining of the past stands in contrast to the prosperous ecological tourism of the village.

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The site of a coalmine in the mountain in Xijingyu Village.

Locals used to live off mining due to lack of grain and arable land.

“We used carriages and later tractors to transport minerals, leaving ‘scars’ in the mountain,” Zhou said.

To profit more, the village needed to repair their ecological environment. In 2015, they decided to develop ecological and cultural tourism.

By planting trees, repairing mountains, widening roads and upgrading houses, Xijingyu recovered their environment and realized upgrading and transformation of tourism.

Now the village has witnessed successive erection of high-end B&Bs with support industries and visitors all year round.

In 2019, the tourism revenue of Xijingyu Village exceeded 8 million yuan (around $1.17 million).

“Worthless stones are now as valuable as jade,” said Zhou.

Jizhou District has created job opportunities for about 60,000 villagers. Seven villages including Xijingyu, Guojiagou and Xiaochuanfangyu have been elected as key villages for rural tourism in China.

Grapes with fragrance spread afar

In 2013, Dingjiaquan Village in Nancaicun Township of Wuqing District decided to grow greenhouse grapes to promote urban agriculture under the guidance of the government.

The district government invested over 10 million yuan in building greenhouses and buying seedlings. Experts from Tianjin Academy of Agricultural Sciences taught villagers how to grow grapes.

Soon after that, a grapery of over 13 hectares was set up in the fields.

Yang Zhengang, one of the first grape growers in the village, contracted over 2,000 square meters of land.

“The productivity rocketed once I grew familiar with the technique. Now I earn 10 times what I made before,” said Yang.

“The productivity this year is expected to reach 5,000 kilos,” said Yang. 

That was 14,000-15,000 yuan each “mu,” or 667 square meters, he said.

“I made only about 1,000 yuan per mu before growing grapes.”

Grapes became a signature product of Dingjiaquan, attracting buyers from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area. Yang even started a fruit-picking business in his greenhouse.

“Sometimes it attracts 6-7 batches of customers a day,” said Yang.

Zhang Baojun, Party secretary of the village of Dingjiaquan, said, “From the setup of the greenhouse to the establishment of professional cooperative for vegetable and fruit planting and a flour mill, villagers now have an average yearly disposable income up to 27,000 yuan and live a happy life with abundant grain, vegetables and fruit.”

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Staff check the quality of flour at the mill in Dingjiaquan Village.

Tianjin has standardized and ungraded 22 municipal pilot parks of recreational agriculture and 258 municipal pilot villages to raise villagers’ incomes.

Historical village 

Lines of rural households decorated with red lanterns stand along the bank of the River Chaobaixin, which belong to the villagers of Xiaoxinmatou in Huangzhuang Township of Baochi District, Tianjin. 

Xiaoxinmatou is now a special tourist village.

“During the reign of Emperor Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, Yuan Huang, magistrate of Baochi County, mobilized the cultivation of rice originating in southern China and promoted virtues of kindness and modesty. You can eat and stay in rural houses and visit Liaofan Plaza for a better understanding of our culture while you are staying here,” said 38-year-old Song Xiangmei to visitors, one of the first agricultural entertainment business owners.

Along with the establishment of scenic spots like Rice Cultural Park, Liaofan Plaza and Caoyun Heritage Park, villages are benefiting from tourism development.

In 2019, the village had 25,000 visits and a direct tourism revenue of 15 million yuan. 

“We can only have long-lasting revitalization with spiritual culture as the base,” said Li Baozhan, head of Huangzhuang Township.

Four national pilot zones of recreational agricultural and rural tourism have been set up including Jizhou District, Baochi District, Wuqing District and Xiqing District. The average disposable income of rural residents in 2019 was 24,804 yuan, up by 7.5 percent.

“Now we live a promising life as we are getting rich,” said Song Xiangmei.

(Original story from Xinhua; translated by Yang Mengzhuo and edited by Zhang Jian)