Village in China's Guangdong undergoes transformation on march toward common prosperity

Photo shows a bird’s eye view of Lianzhang village, Yingde city, south China's Guangdong Province. (People's Daily Online/Wang Tianle)

Lianzhang village, once a poverty-stricken village in Yingde city of south China's Guangdong Province, has embarked on a path to prosperity, presenting a totally different view of itself – tidy footpaths, distinctive dwellings, and an intelligent agricultural park.

It is hardly imaginable that the village, one of the top 10 most beautiful villages in Guangdong, was once a dirty and disorderly backwater just several years ago. In the past, the village was cluttered with foul-smelling cowsheds, pigsties and pit latrines, and was troubled by domestic sewage problems, recalled Lu Feihong, secretary of the Communist Party of China branch of Lianzhang village.

The village has taken measures to improve its living environment. "Since 2017, we have dismantled over 180 unapproved buildings, upgraded sites for household waste, and built public toilets," said Lu.

Lianzhang village was the first administrative village that gained access to 5G services in China. An efficient communications network has played a big role in promoting the development of the village's smart agriculture, e-commerce sector and green agricultural products, in addition to boosting rural vitalization.

The village has expanded the sources of income for its villagers, including dividends, income from planting crops, and wages from jobs.

Lu Yihe, once an impoverished resident in the village, now works as a security guard and also planted 30 mu of bamboos. In 2021, he earned 42,000 yuan (about $6,053) from his job, 21,000 yuan from the sale of bamboo shoots, and 15,066 yuan in dividends. Altogether, the man's family earned 151,992 yuan last year, 4.5 times greater than that in 2016.

Meanwhile, Lianzhang village has built a modern agricultural park, which is equipped with an integrated water and fertilizer control system for commercial crops such as watermelons, strawberries, and Hami melons.

Villager Lu Guojian and his wife work for the agricultural park. The annual income of the family increased to about 80,000 yuan from 10,000 yuan in the past.

Lu Guojian, a resident in Lianzhang village, Yingde city of south China's Guangdong Province, harvests watermelons in a modern agricultural park. (People's Daily Online/Li Qiaochu)

The village has also explored the deep processing of its seasonal agricultural products, including fruits and bamboo shoots, so as to extend their shelf lives and increase their added value.

Besides, Lianzhang village has built a toy factory, a business street, and homestay hotels, among other facilities, which provides job opportunities for a large number of villagers.

Thriving industries have not only brought wealth to villagers, but also expanded the village's collective economy.

In 2019, Lianzhang village was officially removed from the official poverty list. Last year, the per capita disposable income of residents living in the village reached 20,401 yuan. According to official data, the village's collective income has increased about 825 times to reach 1,649,800 yuan last year from a mere 2,000 yuan in 2016.

"We will further develop industries to continuously bring prosperity to our villagers," Lu said.