Xintian County, Hunan Province: pumpkins break out of Zhifu Road Mountain Village to build a big farm

The remote mountain village welcomes visitors every day

"Our ancestors have not had enough to eat, so we have to sell firewood and grass." More than 10 years ago, this is the true portrayal of Xinwuchang Village, Lianhua Township, Xintian County. This small mountain village had more than 20 "singles" at most.

At the end of November, Liu Daozhong, the village secretary, proudly told reporters: "This year alone, 40 small foreign-style buildings have been built in the village, each costing more than 300,000 yuan." Nine elderly people with five guarantees have lived in new houses of 35 square meters per person."

Xinwuchang Village was an immigrant village when Jinling Reservoir was built in 1958, with less than 5 points per capita. What made the village discover the great change?

Pumpkin breaks through the road to prosperity

Liu Daozhong was born in 1965 and went south to Guangdong to work in 1981. "I wanted to go out and eat," he recalls.

In 2001, Liu Daozhong discovered that local vegetables were very popular in Guangdong. Therefore, he tried to use the county's passenger car to consign vegetables to Guangzhou for sale, a trip can earn more than 300 yuan.

In 2003, Liu Daozhong returned to the village to try to plant 1 mu of "a string of bells" small pumpkin, earning nearly 5000 yuan. The following year, he mobilized villagers to plant. Liao Jianlin and other more than 10 poor households were moved by him, that year developed 30 acres of small pumpkin. Liao Jianlin's 2 mu pumpkin income of more than 10,000 yuan.

By 2007, villagers had also transferred farmland from neighboring villages to plant 1100 mu of ordered vegetables.

The mountain village built a large farm

In 2010, Liu Daozhong got to know District Jingtai, the person in charge of Guangdong Dongsheng Farm. After investigation in Xinwuchang, he believed that it was surrounded by mountains and fertile soil, suitable for the development of organic vegetable planting. It is planned to transfer cultivated land continuously for 30 years, improve infrastructure and establish Dongsheng Farm in Xintian County.

The villagers who heard the news found Liu Daozhong one after another: "The land is given to you. What will we eat in the future?"

"After two years, everyone was assured that the farmland would be transferred to the farm." Lai Dakun, a 76-year-old villager, said. His 2 mu of land has an annual rent of 1000 yuan. He and his wife work on the farm with an annual income of more than 39,000 yuan. "It's higher than farming," he told reporters."More importantly, there's no risk."

In 2012, the farm transferred more than 5000 mu of cultivated land to Xinwuchang and neighboring villages such as Leigongwo and Gangshang. More than 36 million yuan has been invested in hardening canals, building drip irrigation systems and cold storage. Vegetables are mainly sold to Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore.

At present, there are more than 600 long-term employees on the farm, with an average age of 56 years. 70% of families in Xinwuchang Village have people working on farms, and the village has formed a development mode of skilled young people working outside and older "post-50s" working on farms.

Qiu Yunzhong, a villager, has a family of 7, and his son and daughter-in-law work outside. He and his wife, as well as his parents in their 70s, work on farms with an average income of more than 20,000 yuan.

Sightseeing Agriculture Promotes Well-off Society

The lush vegetable fields have sightseeing roads, and new landscapes have been built near mountains and rivers... The reporter saw that sightseeing agriculture is emerging in Xinwuchang Village.

In May last year, Liu Daozhong led villagers to rely on farms to develop sightseeing agriculture after he was elected as the village branch secretary in the general election of village branches.

Liu Daochun, a villager engaged in management work on the farm, said: "Tourists can experience the fun of picking and processing vegetables, watch the whole process of refrigeration and dehydration of vegetables, and carry out tourism projects such as fishing and camping. Every household in the village participates in tourism."

"Customers come every day, and the home-brewed rice wine sells for a good price." Peng Jingdong, a villager, said. He and his wife worked on the farm for five years, built a small foreign-style building and set up a farmhouse.

Liu Daozhong took over and said: "This year, the village's per capita net income is at least 10,000 yuan, and it is expected to increase significantly next year." We are planning 50 housing units, providing free housing of more than 35 square meters per person for villagers over 60 years old. We will continue to improve our welfare and strive to achieve a well-off society in the whole village next year!"