In the process of new urbanization, rural value must be squarely recognized

The traditional urbanization model has caused great misunderstanding and man-made destruction of rural value. We have many misconceptions in our understanding of the relationship between city and countryside. The urban-rural relationship is both like that of husband and wife and like that of mother and child. The city and the countryside are like husband and wife because they are interdependent and functionally complementary, and neither can do without the other. The city and the countryside are like mother and child because rural civilization came first and urban civilization came later; urban civilization is a new civilization bred and developed from rural civilization, and the roots of urban civilization lie in the countryside. Urban civilization takes rural civilization as its foundation and support, and without the countryside, the city cannot survive normally. Urban civilization is the sublimation and crystallization of rural civilization. We can neither place urban civilization above the countryside nor place rural civilization above urban civilization. In the natural process of social evolution, the two civilizations should learn from each other's strengths to offset their weaknesses and achieve win-win cooperation. We cannot simply assume that urban civilization is superior to rural civilization, nor simply assume that rural civilization is superior to urban civilization; rather, they are interdependent, functionally complementary, and mutually reinforcing.

To advance new urbanization, we urgently need to deepen our understanding and comprehension of rural value.

First, the productive value of the countryside. The countryside is the main space and carrier of agricultural production. Agricultural production is the foundation of human survival and development. We should not think that because we live on the twentieth or thirtieth floor, we can ignore the value of the foundation at the bottom of the building. As the primary industry, agriculture is the most important industry. The more important something is to humanity, the less money it is worth, and the less it can be measured by money. Just like air, water, and sunlight, these things most important to human survival are the free gifts of Mother Earth to humanity. It is only after humanity entered industrial society that people's own folly ruined them. The grain produced by agriculture is a necessity for human survival. Although grain is not as expensive as an Apple phone or a BMW, we can do without phones and luxury cars, but we cannot do without grain. The most important things are often the least valuable, yet humanity often shows short-sightedness and misunderstanding about this.

Second, the living value of the countryside. Seen on a map, cities are scattered like stars across vast land, and the countryside is far broader and more expansive than the city. Humanity came from the countryside, and the countryside gave birth to humanity's true home. Life in the countryside is the life most grounded in reality, the life most in accord with nature and closest to nature. Since the beginning of history, humanity has mainly lived in the countryside. Even after entering urban society, a very large proportion of the population still lives in the countryside; at the same time, city dwellers accustomed to urban life also yearn for rural life. The rural suburbs of mega-cities are paradises that attract residents' lives. After urbanization develops to a certain degree, the phenomenon of counter-urbanization emerges. The phenomenon and trend of counter-urbanization fully demonstrate that, away from the countryside, it is difficult for humanity to find the eternal meaning of life in the city.

Third, the life value of the countryside. Laozi said, the great way is natural. The countryside is the paradise of life that nature has built for humanity; the city is a dwelling place that humanity has built for itself. However industrious and wise human hands may be, they are still not as perfect as what the hand of nature creates. The primary industry of the countryside is an industry that deals with life, absolutely different from the cold machine production on industrial assembly lines. In the primary industry, human life itself grows together with the lives of animals and plants; it is an exchange, experience, and nurturing between life and life. Life in the countryside allows people to truly experience that life comes from nature and returns to nature.

Fourth, the ecological value of the countryside. The countryside is not only a production space and a living space, but also an extremely important ecological space. Without a good ecology, there can be no good production and life. As the primary industry, agriculture not only produces the grain on which people depend for survival, but also provides the ecological environment that people cannot do without for even a moment. Humanity is the child of nature, and nature selflessly provides humanity with beautiful ecological space. China's several thousand years of agricultural civilization contain an ecological civilization that respects nature, reveres nature, and pursues the unity of heaven and humanity, and can achieve sustainable development. In contrast, the industrial civilization and urban civilization born in cities have neglected cherishing the natural environment, causing serious pollution and destruction of the ecological environment, and posing enormous harm to the homeland on which humanity depends for survival. What industrial civilization and urban civilization produce is garbage, while what agricultural civilization and rural civilization produce is fertilizer that can be recycled. Urban civilization not only cannot replace the ecological value of the countryside, but also cannot do without the ecological value of the countryside. At the same time, with the outbreak of urban diseases, as well as the destruction and threat to rural ecology by industrial civilization and urban civilization, re-recognizing the ecological value of the countryside and vigorously protecting the ecological value of the countryside have become a new issue of the times.

Fifth, the cultural value of the countryside. The history of the countryside is far longer than the history of the city. The rural culture and agricultural civilization that people have accumulated and developed in rural life from generation to generation are the culture and civilization closest to humanity's natural nature. The cultural code of the countryside is worth people's deep thought and deciphering. Rural culture has a profound sense of history; after being tempered by time, it becomes even more integrated with people's lives and existence, forming the genes of human civilization. Urban culture contains more power, finance, and fashion. What distinguishes rural culture from urban culture is that rural culture contains more nature, emotion, and simplicity, and rural culture has a greater sense of the naturalness and belonging of life.

Sixth, the tourism value of the countryside. Compared with the city, the countryside has incomparably broad tourism space, incomparably rich tourism resources, unparalleled tourism advantages, and infinitely broad tourism prospects. If the city has high-rise buildings, the countryside has high mountains and flowing water; if the city has fashion trends, the countryside has local customs; if the city has majestic architecture, the countryside has pastoral scenery. In recent years, Deqing County in Zhejiang Province has developed rural "foreign-style farm stays," and the nightly lodging price of some ordinary farmhouses exceeds that of five-star hotels in the city, yet tourists from home and abroad flock to them. This confirms what our ancients said: "Bamboo fences and thatched cottages have good scenery; high buildings and large mansions are always inferior." Rural leisure and sightseeing tourism is a kind of tourism that returns to nature, a kind of tourism of the unity of heaven and humanity, and a kind of tourism that is grounded and purifies the soul. The natural scenery, local customs, and farm life of the countryside have unique aesthetic value. With economic and social development, the countryside has become an emerging tourism destination, and rural tourism has become a new industry with a bright future.

In the process of advancing new urbanization, when we emphasize deepening our understanding of rural value and respecting rural civilization, we do not mean to negate urban value and urban civilization, but rather to help us make fewer foolish mistakes, so that both rural civilization and urban civilization can illuminate our lives.