Better environment helps village to prosper

Thanks to improvements made to its environment, Cuisizhuang village in Juancheng county – located in Heze city in East China's Shandong province – has taken on a fresh new look and the livelihood of its residents has been greatly improved.

Locals enjoy their leisure time outdoors, in a cultural square in Cuisizhuang village. [Photo by Yan Jicun for chinadaily.com.cn]

"There used to be a pit full of sewage in our village," said a villager surnamed Cui. He said that after being filled, the surface of the ground was hardened – which made it clean and tidy – and a new square was built on it.

In addition, fitness equipment was installed in the square, where people of all ages now love to enjoy their leisure time.

Cuisizhuang was something of a backward village only 10 years ago. Cui Guishan, Party chief of the village, said there were bumps all over the roads and people could hardly walk on them during bad weather. There were neither streetlights nor greenery and most residents had no other way of making a living other than planting and cultivating crops.

In May 2021 that all started to change when Cuisizhuang launched a campaign to improve its environment. Through various fundraising methods, infrastructure – such as roads, streetlights and waterways – were renovated and rebuilt. Moreover, about 3,800 trees were subsequently planted there.

A group of policies that support and benefit the farmers have also been implemented.

The village also built two workshops to solve the problem of rural surplus labor after the farmlands were rented out from farmers in an arrangement known as land transfers. More villagers then became employees in the industrial plants in their neighborhood. (Edited by Fan Yuanyuan)