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| China |
| How farming, processing and sports are revitalizing a rural community | |
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 A ceremony celebrates the eighth Chinese Farmers' Harvest Festival in Zhaoyuan, Yantai City, Shandong Province, on September 23 (XINHUA)
The autumn sun bathes Dahuchenjia Village in Zhaoyuan, a county-level city in Yantai City, Shandong Province, in a golden glow, transforming its rolling hills covered with vast vineyards into a glittering panorama. As grape harvesting season arrives, the air becomes thick with the sweet scent of ripe fruit. The village served as the main venue for activities celebrating the eighth Chinese Farmers' Harvest Festival, which fell on September 23. The festival, established in 2018 and observed annually on the Autumn Equinox, stands as China's first national holiday dedicated to farmers. This year's festivities were particularly lively, featuring 58 key activities nationwide. Dahuchenjia hosted 12 of these, including a celebratory gala and an exhibition highlighting the remarkable achievements in consolidating poverty alleviation efforts and advancing rural revitalization. Rural revitalization, a strategy introduced at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2017, fosters the overall development of China's rural areas. It builds upon the success of the nationwide poverty alleviation campaign, which had eradicated absolute poverty as of late 2020. Appointing Dahuchenjia as the main venue for the eighth Chinese Farmers' Harvest Festival celebration is a testament to Yantai's standing as an agricultural powerhouse. Yantai has abundant agricultural resources and serves as a crucial hub for the production, processing and export of agricultural products. Large-scale farming Yantai Mayor Zhang Mingkang painted a vivid picture of the city's modern agriculture, characterized by the four colors of "red, purple, blue and gold."At a press conference held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on August 29, he explained that "red" represents apples and cherries, with sprawling orchards transforming mountains and plains into scenes of abundant harvest. "Purple" represents the flourishing wine industry, with Yantai recognized as an international wine city and home to world-renowned wineries like Changyu. "Blue" embodies the vibrant marine economy, as Yantai has 1.16 million square km of sea area and leads the country in the number of national-level marine ranches. Finally, "gold" highlights the robust grain industry, where corn, wheat, and other crops consistently achieve high yields. Dahuchenjia itself boasts a robust agricultural sector, a stark contrast to its past. Merely a few decades ago, Dahuchenjia was a village at the mercy of the elements, where harvests of crops like corn, peanuts and sweet potatoes were entirely dictated by the weather. A pivotal shift began in 2016, when the village began to leverage its farmers' cooperative to optimize land resources and develop modern agriculture. Farmers' cooperatives are mutual-aid economic organizations established and managed by farmers. The cooperatives serve their members by providing services such as the purchase of agricultural production materials, sales, processing, transportation and storage of agricultural products, as well as technical and information services related to agricultural production and management. Wang Zhaoling, a staff member with the village cooperative, explained to Qilu Evening News newspaper how the farmers' cooperative works. "Land use rights were transferred from individual farmers to establish a modern agricultural park. The park's profit was then divided and distributed back to farmers," Wang said. Today, Dahuchenjia is home to an 833-hectare modern agricultural park, dedicated to the large-scale cultivation of agricultural products. Notable among these are apples and Sunshine Rose grapes—a grape variety known for its large size, crisp texture, intense sweetness and potent aroma. The park yields over 18,000 tons of agricultural products annually, including grapes and apples, and all products are marketed under the unified Dahu Manor trademark. Liu Xufeng and her husband Yang Changhui were pioneers in adopting the large-scale grape cultivation within the farmers' cooperative, where professional management and unified pest and disease control are carried out. Yang told Xinhua News Agency that the cooperative put in place necessary infrastructure, including grape trellises and irrigation systems, while they focus on grape cultivation. As of late 2018, the one hectare of grapes under their care had generated a profit of 300,000 to 400,000 yuan ($42,159 to $56,212). The cooperative has boosted local income in general. In 2024, the per-capita disposable income of villagers reached 37,000 yuan ($5,200), exceeding the national rural average of 23,119 yuan ($3,249). To mitigate market risks associated with large-scale cultivation, Dahuchenjia has actively developed agricultural processing, in turn boosting sales and enhancing the added value of its agricultural products. Within the Dahu Manor Winery, Sunshine Rose grapes undergo a process of pressing, distillation, brewing and bottling to be transformed into exquisite wine. Yao Yunping, General Manager of Dahu Manor Winery, told Xinhua that the winery's annual sales have surpassed 1 million yuan ($140,531). Moreover, the winery is among the pioneering enterprises in China to produce distilled spirits from Sunshine Rose grapes. Further diversifying its processing capabilities, the village has also established a fruit canning production line with an annual capacity of 11,000 tons, alongside a production line for fruit beverages and fruit wines, capable of producing 500 tons annually.  A parade showcases newly harvested agricultural products in Huangling Village, Wuyuan County, Jiangxi Province, on September 23 (XINHUA)
Rural tourism Beyond its agricultural strengths, Dahuchenjia has recently focused on cultivating its tourism industry, integrating agriculture, tourism, and sports. In July, the village hosted several Village Basketball Association (Cun BA) matches. Originating as a harvest celebration event in Taipan Village in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province, the Cun BA has now blossomed into a nationwide competition. Over seven days, 16 teams from 10 provinces and cities, including Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, took to the court in 43 matches. Daily visitor numbers surged past 5,000, with local guesthouses experiencing full occupancy. These popular sporting events have injected new vitality into the rural community. This success is not a one-off accident. Wang Hanlin, Assistant to Secretary of the CPC Dahuchenjia Branch, told Qilu Evening News that Dahuchenjia has hosted multiple national- and provincial-level competitions in recent years. Yang told Xinhua that during July's Cun BA games, several grape varieties were ripe for harvesting. The competition resulted in a one-third increase in his grape sales compared to previous years, and he has also gained many new customers. The successful practices of Dahuchenjia provide a replicable model for rural revitalization. Its approach has been widely promoted across Yantai and even Shandong at large. BR (Print Edition: Ready to Go Rural) Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon Comments to jijing@cicgamericas.com |
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