Picturesque village sees business blossom

HANGZHOU－Five years ago, 27-year-old Jiang Lijuan made a life-changing decision. She gave up a promising career as a designer in Hangzhou and returned to her rural home to start her own business.

A drive to her home in Xiajiang village, some 200 kilometers southwest of the bustling city in East China's Zhejiang province, offers a feast for the eyes. Traditional houses with black roof tiles and white walls, as well as newly built bars, libraries and homestay venues line the banks of a river that winds through the village.

The picturesque village, however, was once plagued by poverty and environmental destruction. Cob walls, stinky sewage and dirty pigsties are the childhood memories for many grown-ups in Xiajiang, including Jiang, who now runs a homestay with her parents.

All of this was changed by the endeavors of local government. By 2016, when Jiang returned, the village had seen its sanitation conditions improve beyond measure, and had already begun to develop rural tourism. In addition, a highway connected the village with the outside world.

"I made the decision partly for the convenience of taking care of my parents, and partly out of confidence in the homestay business," Jiang says.

Jiang refurbished her family's four-story house into a homestay with a cozy fireplace, elegant courtyard and exquisite furnishings. It proved to be an instant success. In just shy of two years, the business generated an annual turnover of 300,000 yuan ($46,380).

However, she did not stop with personal success, but used her business acumen and experience to help fellow villagers. Now, there are over 30 homestay service providers in Xiajiang village, some of which generate an annual revenue of hundreds of thousands of yuan.

The first Xiajiang local to start a business back in their hometown, and the first to open a boutique homestay in the village, in 2019 Jiang decided to run for election as the chief of the Communist Party of China Xiajiang village committee, and was elected the following year.

"I have benefited a lot from the village, and I think I should give back," Jiang says.

Jiang's win is no surprise to Yu Huimei, Party committee chief of the Fengshuling township, which administers Xiajiang village. A well-educated and capable Party chief that can lead the village to greater prosperity is what the villagers want, Yu says.

The young Party chief has since helped Xiajiang to incubate over 10 types of business with local characteristics, including specialty restaurants and handicrafts. In 2020, Xiajiang received 768,900 visits, generating over 46 million yuan in tourism earnings.

Official statistics show that 2020 saw over 10 million Chinese people, including rural migrant workers who have returned to their hometowns, college graduates and veterans, starting businesses in rural areas. Like Jiang, they have injected vitality to the country's rural communities with their knowledge and fresh ideas.

Now, Jiang is living an even faster paced life than she used to have in the city, working late and barely having a weekend to herself. "It is tiring work, but I am happy with it," Jiang says, as she is determined to contribute more to her hometown.

Xinhua