Village chief helps cultivate prosperity

Yin Jiping, Party chief of a village in North China's Hebei province, said he began carrying out new plans to increase the prosperity of villagers after receiving inspiration from the central government.

Yin attended the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in October, after which he returned to Tayuanzhuang village in Zhengding county, Shijiazhuang, and held a dozen conferences with party members and villagers to pass on what he learned from the gathering.

"The part of the report I remember most is that we need to put in place sound systems, mechanisms and policies to build rural areas with thriving businesses, pleasant living environments, social etiquette and civility, along with effective governance and prosperity," he said.

Inspired by the report, Yin, together with his colleagues, devised a new plan to build their village with more thriving businesses.

The village will develop a 500-mu (33-hectare) fig-planting base as a tourism project and also set up a food processing industry.

"The village is now developing rural tourism in which the agricultural base can act as a place for visitors to try their green thumbs at harvesting figs," he said.

Since 2008, the village started to develop a collective economy by developing primary, secondary and tertiary industries, which opened up more channels to increase villagers' incomes.

Villagers can work at companies set up in the village such as vegetable cultivation and other agricultural pursuits, food processing and e-commerce enterprises, and they can also get a share of the profits.

Zhao Ruiming, a villager of Tayuanzhuang, said both he and his wife worked at companies in the village and can earn about 8,000 yuan each month together.

For the tourism industry, Tayuanzhuang took advantage of its location near Hutuo river, which is a popular scenic spot thanks to its picturesque landscape.

"We develop rural tourism that includes experiencing rural lives, living in rural households and eating local homemade specialties," Yin said, adding that more and more city dwellers like to return to nature and experience rural life for themselves.

Last year, Tayuanzhuang has received more than 200,000 tourists and the number is expected to double because the village will further develop its tourism sector this year, he said.

Ten years ago, the average annual income of villagers at Tayuanzhuang was only about 4,000 yuan.

Last year, the average income of 2,030 villagers at Tayuanzhuang reached 21,000 yuan and it's expected to reach 30,000 yuan by 2020, Yin said.