Villagers create guidelines to improve way of life

The 170 villages throughout Fengxian district in southern Shanghai have created their own guidelines to help residents form good habits that are aligned with the nation's efforts to promote the building of beautiful villages.

Most of the guidelines comprise about 10 points that seek to regulate behaviors in areas such as the building and renovating of houses, the protection of riverways and domestic trash sorting.

According to the local village heads, residents first suggested a slew of guidelines before voting which of these would be put into action.

"Grassroot legal advisors, social organizations and volunteers were also involved, providing advice in creating the guidelines to ensure their appropriateness and feasibility," said Song Huoliang, Party head of Cungu village in Zhuanghang town, during a media tour of the villages on Tuesday.

With regard to the protection of the water environment, the guidelines in Cungu stipulate that residents are prohibited from actions such as constructing unauthorized structures alongside the streams and engaging in aquaculture activities.

The district prosecuting agency and court have also legalized the penalties for breaking the rules, according to the district's bureau of justice.

Cungu, which is famous for its production of pears, was the birthplace of such citizen-made guidelines two years ago. The practice was then gradually extended to other villages, said Zhang Wenquan, director of the Fengxian District Bureau of Justice.

Li Tianshu, head of Yinglong village in Zhelin town, said that the habits of local residents have dramatically changed under the influence of these new guidelines.

"Inappropriate disposal of household and agricultural waste used to be a problem in our village, but most residents have now abandoned these practices and would wait for the truck to come collect their trash around 5 pm every day," he said.

A total of 12,000 villagers from the district were selected to promote the guidelines among other residents and supervise their implementation. Some villagers have even held talks to communicate the action plans in places such as community activity centers and elderly care homes.