Revolutionary new industries fuel development

Nestled deep in the Taihang Mountains, the Huangyadong area once lagged behind in development due to its isolation, but it has since embarked on a new path, with locals engaged in red tourism.

Located in Licheng county, Changzhi city, North China's Shanxi province, Huangyadong is famous for being the site of a former arsenal founded by the Eighth Route Army, which was led by the Communist Party of China during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45).

"Tourist appetite for history and revolutionary stories has increased significantly," says local farmer Li Yungang, who jumped on the red tourism bandwagon in 2006 and runs an agriculture-entertainment business in Huangyadong.

Li has seen a growing number of visitors pouring into Huangyadong to learn about red culture. "I can offer over 50 rooms and gain a monthly income of more than 300,000 yuan ($41,801) during peak season," says Li.

Over the years, Huangyadong has been developed into a national 4A scenic spot, the second-highest rating in a five-level assessment system for the country's scenic areas.

The vitality of Huangyadong is the result of efforts made by Licheng's government in recent years to fully utilize its 521 revolutionary sites to develop red tourism around the county, with investments totaling nearly 10 billion yuan.

With a slew of major red tourism projects developed by the local government, Licheng saw 636,000 tourist visits in the first nine months of this year, according to the county's culture and tourism bureau.

From January to September, the tourism sector produced extra income for over 1,300 households in Licheng, the bureau says.

In addition to tourism, other emerging industries have also promoted the development of old revolutionary bases in Shanxi.

After a downpour, visitors were surprised to find that there were no puddles on some of the streets around Wuxiang county, known as "the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army" in Changzhi.

These streets are paved with a new type of permeable brick, which is produced by a local environment protection technology company.

"High-performance permeable bricks are among urgent demands for reducing waterlogging in urban areas," says Hao Jinting, chairman of the company, adding that their bricks, boasting high permeability and resistance to freezing, has been applied in some 30 cities nationwide.

Heavy reliance on the coal industry once hampered the development of Wuxiang. In recent years, the county has ramped up efforts to boost emerging industries and help a batch of traditional enterprises accelerate their transformation and upgrading.

Nearly half of the 29 industrial firms in Wuxiang, with an annual main business revenue of at least 20 million yuan, are not related to coal mining. Among them, six are involved in emerging industries, including photovoltaic and wind power generation, as well as equipment manufacturing, says Wu Wei, deputy director of the local bureau of industry and information technology.

For over a decade, Li Xiaobing, head of a calcium company in Wuxiang, has witnessed the company transforming its business from quarrying to producing nano calcium carbonate — a new material.

"It can be used as raw material for making paper, plastic and rubber," Li Xiaobing says, adding that the first phase of a nano calcium carbonate production line with an annual output of 50,000 metric tons will be put into operation by the end of this year.

The emerging industries in Licheng and Wuxiang counties are the result of a raft of support policies launched by China in recent years to boost the development of its old revolutionary bases.

In early 2021, the State Council issued a document that set out its development goals for old revolutionary base areas in the new era. By 2025, old revolutionary base areas are to reach higher levels of rural vitalization and a new type of urbanization.