Rural boom spurs city's development

Forestry was a highlight of Beijing's economic development during the first half of 2019, driving the city's value added in the primary industry increasing 17.5 percent year-on-year.

According to statistics released on July 17, the added value of Beijing's primary sector reached 4.94 billion yuan ($717.7 million) in the first six months. The added value saw year-on-year decreases of 8.8 percent in 2016, 6.2 percent in 2017 and 2.3 percent in 2018.

Pang Jiangqian, deputy head of the Beijing Bureau of Statistics, said the current year's increase is mainly due to big growth in forestry's production value. "In the first half of this year, driven by a new round of the forestation projects, Beijing's output value amounted to 5.63 billion yuan, a year-on-year rise of 101.6 percent," Pang said.

Production value of animal husbandry and fisheries decreased 30.9 percent and 29.7 percent when compared with the same period of 2018. The added value of Beijing's primary sector continued declining from 2016 to 2018, yet the rate of decline was reduced.

Some people said the change indicated an expanded proportion of agriculture to the service and manufacturing industries.

The Beijing News newspaper quoted an expert saying the downward trend in the decrease rate is not an unfavorable signal, but a reflection of upgraded agriculture that forges ahead, driven by urban agriculture and eco-agriculture, or modernized efficient agriculture.

Statistics showed output of traditional farming such as wheat, vegetables and animal products continued to decrease in the first six months of 2019, yet economic benefits of urban agriculture increased.

Agricultural sightseeing parks in Beijing have focused on improving quality. The number of such parks declined, but those that remained became more efficient.

In the first half of this year, Beijing was home to 933 such parks, a year-on-year decrease of 16.9 percent. They received about 6.9 million visits, a year-on-year decrease of 15 percent. Despite the reductions, each of the parks on average generated some 1.12 million yuan in income, a year-on-year rise of 9.4 percent.

Rural tourism boomed, partially thanks to its improved quality, officials said. Rural tourism sites received more than 8.31 million visits in the first half of 2019, a year-on-year decrease of 3.2 percent, yet the per capita consumption was 70.5 yuan, a year-on-year rise of 1.5 percent.

Beijing plans to develop some 100 demonstration villages for rural revitalization from 2019 to 2020, officials said, adding the villages will have thriving industries and an appealing residential environment.

Local authorities will also help about 1,000 villages improve their environment and infrastructure each year to expand the eco-friendly countryside landscape and boost rural revitalization.

The mountains near Tanchang village on the outskirts of Beijing, once barren and polluted as a result of coal mining, have been recovered and transformed into a scenic site. Local villagers run bed-and-breakfast businesses there to increase their incomes.

More villages have received face-lifts in the past couple of years. The improvement has laid a foundation for Beijing to develop the demonstration villages and improve the environment of about 1,000 villages in total.

songmengxing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 07/26/2019 page7)