Baisha: Diverse industrial layout and e-commerce boost rural revitalization 

"We primarily focus on Dancing Lady Orchids. Each orchid plant blossoms twice a year and the flowers remain for quite a long time. This makes them a very popular flower and market demand well exceed supply.” On November 17, Wu Juncai—a member of the Da'an Village Rural Revitalization Working Group—was at the Changling Orchid Planting Demonstration Base in Baisha Li Autonomous County’s Da’an Town to introduce the orchid base to members of the media taking part in the Central Media Free Trade Port activity "Witnessing Hainan’s Rural Revitalization Work".

Wu Jiancai explaining the local situation to members of the media. XINHUA

Blooming orchids at the Da’an Village Orchid Planting Base. XINHUA

Starting from 2019, as a way to help local villagers cast off poverty and become wealthy, the orchid planting industry was introduced to the area after numerous areas had been investigated by the People's Government of Da'an Town.

Per an introduction by Wu Juncai, the base presently has 11 greenhouses with 250,000 orchids. The local cooperative is responsible for management and maintenance, and the village’s Rural Revitalization Working Group is responsible for supervision and guidance. According to seasonal demand, the base engages farmers from neighboring areas in daily maintenance tasks. At the same time, the base is also cultivating a group of skilled orchid industry workers. The combination of skilled and unskilled labor drive employment, and promote an increase in local income levels.

That same day, on a visit to the Xinhaifu Ecological Pigeon Breeding Base in Yacha Town, the pigeon breeder Wang Guiyu was seen busily moving back and forth between row upon row of pigeon cages, picking up pigeon eggs, and attending to hatchlings. Wang Guiyu—a villager from nearby Shifen Village—had previously worked on a small family owned farm tapping rubber trees. Now, however, as a pigeon breeder, his income working at the Base averages between five and six thousand yuan per month.

Wang Guiyu attending to hatchlings.XINHUA

In addition to supporting projects like these Baisha County is also helping farmers start their own businesses on e-commerce platforms. As of the end of October 2021, households accounting for 26,172 people have sold a total of CNY 67,442,300 in agricultural products from Baisha via e-commerce. 

Qionghai: Small villages are the region’s vital lifeblood 

Encircled by the Jiuqu and Longgun Rivers, Shamei Village—at the foot of Jinniu Ridge in Qionghai City’s Bo’ao Town—borders directly on the Shamei Wetlands. A pleasingly scenic combination of land and water, Shamei began in 2017 to reconstruct itself as a ‘beautiful village’. After just a few short years the villager’s living environment has undergone tremendous changes. Old houses have been renovated; new houses built. In addition to getting internet, every household has moved from well water and septic tanks to plumbing and centralized sewage treatment. The result is a beautiful village integrating leisurely sightseeing with agritainment.

Shamei has a permanent population of 522 people. In 2019, the village’s annual income had reached CNY 10 million (of which tourism accounted for CNY 2.38 million). For now, every villager gets about 3,000 yuan per year in dividends from the tourism industry. Shamei's transformation from caterpillar to butterfly is a microcosm of Hainan Province's implementation of the rural revitalization strategy.

“This is a very meaningful thing, and, I hope that through my own efforts, I can continue to help Shamei improve, and to become a model of the new socialist countryside," said Shi Haosi, Head of the Shamei Village Rural Revitalization Working Group. During the epidemic period, the homestays and B&Bs run by local villagers suffered heavily. However, as Shi Haosi learned, specific activity channels on online business platforms were capable of helping the villagers with promotional work. Within an hour of being put online, rooms at all 50 of Shamei’s homestays had sold out. 

Chengmai: Little Oranges, big Industry

"Fu Oranges" are a key part of the county’s rural revitalization strategy and one of Chengmai’s high-quality representative agricultural products. A few days ago, when visiting Silin Plantation, reporters saw busy workers handling the harvest. Picking, sorting, and packing, Chengmai Fu oranges were being made ready to be shipped to other places across China.

Silin is just one of many Fu orange planting bases across Chengmai County. Of the 171 in total, 91 of the orchards (about 400 hectares of land) have already begun to bear fruit. In recent years the county’s annual planting area of Fu oranges has increased by between 130 and 200 hectares a year and the quantity of oranges being produced has continued to rise apace.

These years, Chengmai has been actively engaged in rural revitalization work. By encouraging farmers and planting companies to plant and sell Fu oranges, and encouraging orange plantations and orchards to develop sightseeing and pick-your-own tourism activities, this small orange has spurred a big industry and—in line with local conditions—the path of characteristic agricultural development has been embarked upon.