Revolution in Red base's agriculture reaps rewards

Editor's Note: China Daily is running a series of stories on old revolutionary bases with profound history and heritage, which are striving to lead local people on the road to prosperity in the new era.

In Huichang, a county in Jiangxi province with a rich revolutionary history, the economy is being revitalized by tapping into its Red resources to develop modern agriculture and service industries.

One of the key regions during the Agrarian Revolutionary War period (1927-37), Huichang was the site of a number of major confrontations, including the Huichangshan and Tianmenzhang battles, both of which contributed to the ultimate success of the Chinese revolution.

Many proletarian revolutionists and founders of the People's Republic of China, including Mao Zedong (1893-1976), Zhou Enlai (1898-1976), Zhu De (1886-1976) and Deng Xiaoping (1904-97), lived in the county and helped lead the battles.

After climbing one of Huichang's mountains on July 23, 1934, Chairman Mao wrote Qingpingyue Huichang, an impassioned poem in praise of the beauty of its landscape.

The heroic county contributed greatly to the revolution, with 77,200 of its inhabitants fighting in battles and 38,600 joining the Red Army. At the time, the county had a population of 240,000.

Records show it produced 7,742 martyrs, while some 20,000 anonymous Chinese and foreign fighters, who lost their lives for the revolution, are also buried there.

With heroic genes rooted in its history, Huichang has turned toward economic development in recent years, with a particular focus on modern agriculture.

Xiong Guixiu, who grew up in the county and proposed starting an eco-friendly agricultural venture in 2019, said that Huichang's environment and quality produce gave her the idea.

Fang Jun, general manager of Jin'ao Agricultural Development Investment, also aspires to transform the previously poverty-stricken area by revitalizing its agriculture.

"It used to be a backwater, but it has great economic potential which has yet to be fully unleashed," he said. "For example, we have suitable conditions for growing navel oranges here. We also have a traditional strength in making rice noodles."

Fang said that his company launched a promotional campaign with JD Farm, the agriculture management and retailing service of e-commerce operator JD.com, earlier this year.

"We worked with farmers to create a rice-planting base of 1,000 mu (roughly 66.7 hectares) and a 500 mu base for navel orange in March," he said. "During this initial period, we've invested about 2.96 million yuan ($464,000)."

He said that JD Farm provides access to high-tech facilities and monitoring software to help monitor the soil condition, weather changes and pesticide use, and helps train farmers and business operators to ensure production meets high standards.

"We're new at improving the brand image of the county's produce. It has bothered us for quite some time that we have good quality produce but low customer recognition, as we don't have any famous brands. I hope that JD Farm will help improve our brand image and attract more investment to invigorate the county's economy," he said.

Huichang has been working hard to turn itself into a pioneer zone in rural vitalization and economic development by making use of its Red resources and natural conditions.

Pan Jincheng, the county's Party chief, said in a recent interview with people.cn that Huichang will continue to explore new modes of development and strengthen the creation of digital and modern agriculture to become a center for processing produce to supply the Greater Bay Area and neighboring provinces.