Electric power brings warmth and prosperity to rural areas

At the Tuofeifei Ostrich Breeding Base in Huanhe village, Liuji town, Shuyang county, Suqian, Jiangsu province, Zhan Yun, a 33-year-old breeder, is showing groups of robust ostriches with long necks strolling leisurely by the fence via a live-stream camera. 

Three years ago, Zhan was just a small-scale breeder with fewer than 20 ostriches. After years of trial and error, his current ostrich stock has grown to over 1,000, and he has become the first "demonstration household for the ostrich industry chain" in the local area. In 2025, his story was selected into the creator stories of Douyin E-commerce's "Looking for Fellow Travelers" program, and he now generates an annual economic benefit of more than 1 million yuan ($14.04 million).

[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"In the initial stage of breeding, the farm was a desolate place, and the breeding was extremely difficult. The ostrich sheds were very shabby. Ostriches are herbivores, so they have a huge demand for forage and silage. The forage had to be cut manually with a fodder chopper, which left our arms sore and aching after a day's work," recalled the couple Shan Haifei. In October 2023, after learning about this situation, Longji Power Supply Station of State Grid Shuyang County Power Supply Company conducted an on-site survey immediately, and carried out the application and installation process efficiently. A 0.4 kilovolt cable with a total length of 200 meters was erected to the farm, connecting it to industrial power supply — laying a solid foundation for the take-off of the ostrich breeding industry.

"Electricity is indispensable for ostrich breeding! Raising a mature ostrich requires automatic egg incubators and brooding rooms. The daily power consumption of constant-temperature equipment is about 200 kilowatt-hours, and the heating cost in winter increases significantly," Shan Haifei said. In early 2025, to support Shan Haifei in expanding the scale of ostrich breeding, Longji Power Supply Station of State Grid Shuyang County Power Supply Company increased the power capacity to 90 kilowatts for his farm, laid an additional 80-meter-long 0.4kV cable, and replaced equipment such as the electricity metering box. The farm area was also expanded from 5 mu (0.33 hectares) to 35 mu, and equipment such as feed mixers and feeding devices have received electrification upgrades.

[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"Currently, we are limited by site constraints and are actively applying to the local government for land use approval. For nearby villagers who are interested in ostrich breeding, we will also provide them with seedlings, teach breeding techniques, and collaborate on sales — so that everyone can get rich together. Breeding work cannot do without electricity, so we still need to rely on the masters from the power supply company for support," said Shan Haifei. With the solid guarantee of electricity supply, he is once again planning to expand the breeding scale.

The vigorous development of the ostrich industry has also driven the diversified development of the local economy. Shan and his wife Zhan have kept pace with the times: by live-streaming the ostrich breeding process, they have attracted a large number of fans and further boosted the popularity of their ostrich farm. "I have been working here for over a year. The salary and benefits are good, and I have also learned to make ostrich-feather dusters. As soon as this year's Double 11 E-commerce Festival started, the number of orders for ostrich-feather dusters from our farm exceeded 2,000 per day," said Shan Mei, a worker at the farm.

[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

During the Double 11 period, to ensure the power supply for the duster processing factory, the Longji Power Supply Station of State Grid Shuyang County Power Supply Company arranged for staff to conduct regular on-site line inspections and electricity meter checks, promptly eliminating potential electricity safety hazards. "Once the land use approval is granted, we plan to develop through a multi-party model linking the government, industrial parks, local cooperatives, and farming households, which will effectively drive the increase in local farmers' income and help them achieve prosperity. We expect the ostrich industry to propel the rural economy to shine even more brilliantly," Shan said with anticipation.