Sun Shihe, a man from the mountains, and his road back to the authentic Chinese medicinal herb industry
There is such a person: he gave up a comfortable life in a big city and returned to the hometown that gave him birth and raised him; he set aside his originally thriving business and resolutely led his fellow villagers into the Chinese medicine industry, opening up a road to prosperity. In Xiayingzi Village, Luanping County, Chengde City, Hebei Province, no villager fails to give a thumbs-up when Sun Shihe's name is mentioned. Through Sun Shihe's unremitting efforts, the Hebei Yanshan (Luanping) Chinese Medicinal Herb Economic Core Demonstration Zone has been established in Xiayingzi Village, and the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences has even made it a key project as the largest and most comprehensive Chinese medicinal herb species resource protection and exhibition base in northern China.
Sun Shihe (the person explaining in the photo) introduces the development of the Chinese medicinal herb industry in Xiayingzi Village to a visiting delegation
Growing Chinese medicinal herbs: four sources of income from one piece of land
As an entrepreneur who came out of Jinshanling, after achieving success in his career he resolutely decided to return to his hometown to invest in and develop the Chinese medicine industry - such an act is inevitably hard for people to understand. Looking back on that decision, Sun Shihe still sighs with deep emotion.
He left Xiayingzi Village at the age of 30, and after many years of hard work, Sun Shihe finally achieved success in his career. But in Sun Shihe's heart, his hometown has always been a special feeling that cannot be erased. No matter how busy he is each year, Sun Shihe always finds time to return to the village for a short stay. During one renovation of his old home, Sun Shihe saw Xiayingzi Village, which had not changed noticeably in decades, and for a moment a complex and solemn emotion surged up in his heart.
"When my father was alive, he often told me, 'A true hero protects three villages.' At the time I did not understand how much meaning that saying carried. On that trip back to the village, I saw that the place that gave me birth and raised me was still as it had been, and the villagers were not well off - not because they were lazy, but because they could not find work to do. During the renovation of the old home, the younger people in the village all said they hoped I could help them find some work. I saw earnest expectation in their eyes, and without even thinking I agreed." Sun Shihe said.
He did as he said. In order to help Xiayingzi Village completely shed the label of "backward" and not disappoint the villagers' expectations, Sun Shihe set aside his thriving business outside and personally returned to the village to investigate. During his investigation, Sun Shihe found that the villagers of Xiayingzi Village could not make any money at all just by farming. "The cost of plowing one mu of land is more than 50 yuan, buying seeds and fertilizer requires more than 200 yuan, and adding the not-inconsiderable labor cost, from spring sowing to autumn harvest, after the grain is sold everyone often still loses money. Over time, no villager was willing to farm properly anymore." Having found the crux of the problem, Sun Shihe began planning specific ways to help the villagers become prosperous.
Because Luanping County has had a good tradition of growing Chinese medicinal herbs since ancient times, and because many relatives in his family work in the Chinese medicine industry, Sun Shihe came up with the idea of using Chinese medicinal herb cultivation as the breakthrough point for the villagers to become prosperous. At this time, the state had just introduced a series of policies supporting the development of agriculture and the Chinese medicine industry. With favorable timing and conditions, Sun Shihe set up a farm in Xiayingzi Village, which is now Chengde Jiucai Agricultural Trade Development Co., Ltd., and formally invested in developing the Chinese medicinal herb cultivation industry.
From the end of 2014, when he returned to the village, to today, under Sun Shihe's leadership, Xiayingzi Village has undergone earth-shaking changes. Through growing Chinese medicinal herbs, the annual income of the villagers of Xiayingzi Village has increased several times over. In addition, the existing Chinese medicinal herb cultivation park in Xiayingzi Village covers 2220 mu. In the park, hundreds of herbs flourish and a delicate fragrance drifts far and wide. 56 kinds of Chinese medicinal herbs, including Scutellaria baicalensis, Astragalus membranaceus, Phellodendron amurense, and Sophora flavescens, form a picturesque scene and extend into a full panoramic ecological chain of "agriculture + industry," "agriculture + tourism," and "enterprise + farmers."
Through Sun Shihe's unremitting efforts, the villagers realized the wish of four sources of income from one piece of land. "When the company rents villagers' land to grow Chinese medicinal herbs, it pays the villagers rent; when villagers come to work for the company, it pays them wages; when villagers hold shares in the company, there are dividends; and the farmhouse tourism driven by the company's development also lets villagers earn cash." Sun Shihe said proudly. Not only that, the entire village's labor force came to work for the "family's own" company, the village's children were no longer left-behind children, and the village's elderly also received the care they deserved. In Sun Shihe's eyes, all of this was far more important than "four sources of income from one piece of land."
A view of the Hebei Yanshan (Luanping) Chinese Medicinal Herb Economic Core Demonstration Zone
Be an authentic person, grow authentic herbs
Through Sun Shihe's unremitting efforts and the hard work of the villagers of Xiayingzi Village, Chengde Jiucai Agricultural Trade Development Co., Ltd., founded by Sun Shihe, not only drove the development of Xiayingzi Village and Luanping County through Chinese medicinal herb cultivation, but also became a shining "calling card" for the Chinese medicinal herb cultivation industry throughout Hebei Province.
From December 2014 to March 2015, led by the Chengde Municipal Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Bureau, four months were used for in-depth planning and careful preparation, and it was finally decided to rely on Chengde Jiucai Agricultural Trade Development Co., Ltd. to build the Hebei Yanshan (Luanping) Chinese Medicinal Herb Economic Core Demonstration Zone in Xiayingzi Village, Luanping County. At the same time, the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences also confirmed that Xiayingzi Village would be made a key project as the largest and most comprehensive variety resource protection and exhibition base in northern China. Today's Xiayingzi Village combines many honors in one and enjoys boundless glory. And all of this stems from the rule Sun Shihe set for himself: "Be an authentic person, grow authentic herbs."
"Chinese medicine is the quintessence of our country, but why has our country's Chinese medicine resource not been well inherited in recent years? The fundamental reason is that 'Chinese medicine is ruined by its medicinal materials, and Chinese medicinal materials are ruined by cultivation.' Nowadays there are fewer and fewer wild Chinese medicinal herbs, and most cultivated Chinese medicinal herbs use chemical pesticides. Over time, this has dealt a severe blow to Chinese medicine at its root." In addition, his family's experience further strengthened Sun Shihe's determination to grow good medicinal materials. Sun Shihe said: "My sister once went to inspect a Chinese medicine factory in the south and found that a large amount of export Chinese medicine in the factory had been returned because pesticide residues exceeded the standard. The factory director's remark, 'Fortunately there is no standard domestically,' stung my heart deeply. From then on I made up my mind that the Chinese medicinal herbs I grow would not use a single drop of pesticide."
The Chinese medicinal herbs now grown in Xiayingzi Village rely on insect-killing lamps and sticky insect boards for pest control, and use organic fertilizer. At the same time, not satisfied with the traditional cultivation model, Sun Shihe also introduced crop-medicinal herb intercropping, fruit-medicinal herb intercropping, and medicinal herb-medicinal herb intercropping, and achieved success. Sun Shihe's "stubbornness" also received the reward it deserved.
Through Sun Shihe's strict management and the support of government departments on many sides, the demonstration zone has taken initial shape by building four major sections - experimental demonstration, standardized cultivation, origin processing, and tourism, sightseeing and health preservation - as well as four major systems - scientific and technological research and development, standardized production, quality traceability, and marketing. At the same time, it has also driven Luanping County to add more than 51,800 mu of standardized, large-scale, and ecological Chinese medicinal herb cultivation area.
In addition, the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences is also continuously deepening cooperation with the demonstration zone. At present, a 200-mu improved variety breeding base has been completed. This base will focus on research and development of improved seeds and seedlings of Chinese medicinal herbs. In addition, a Chinese medicinal herb soil improvement project is also underway. Sun Shihe said: "In the future, through cooperation with the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences and relevant departments, the demonstration zone will form a complete industry chain from Chinese medicinal herb cultivation to finished medicine."
When predecessors plant trees, later generations should also enjoy the shade
On August 18, 2016, the "First Hebei Province Chinese Medicinal Herb Industry Development Conference" grandly opened in Luanping County, Chengde City, Hebei Province. During the conference, many leaders from the Hebei Provincial Department of Agriculture and other departments, as well as more than 100 representatives of Chinese medicinal herb cultivation from Hebei Province and representatives of Chinese medicine enterprises in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, specially visited the Hebei Yanshan (Luanping) Chinese Medicinal Herb Economic Core Demonstration Zone.
After the conference was successfully held, Sun Shihe received dozens of phone calls every day - some discussing cooperation, some exchanging experience, some seeking to purchase medicinal materials... "The Chinese Medicinal Herb Industry Development Conference pushed Xiayingzi Village into the national spotlight!" Sun Shihe said excitedly.
Ever since he began growing Chinese medicinal herbs, Sun Shihe has walked around the herb fields every evening. Looking at the medicinal herbs covering the hills, he feels an indescribable comfort in his heart. As the state has successively introduced multiple policies supporting the development of the Chinese medicine industry, Sun Shihe also has his own plans. "At present, Chinese medicine has ushered in new opportunities for development. Taking this as an opportunity, I want to leave more behind for future generations." According to Sun Shihe's vision, in 5 years all the land in Xiayingzi Village will be planted with Chinese medicinal herbs, striving to restore the scale of the former imperial medicinal estate.
"I have currently invested 50 million yuan in Xiayingzi Village, and next year I will invest another 50 million yuan. I hope that through my efforts, all the villagers in the village will truly become industrial workers, and the next generation in the village will no longer suffer." In Sun Shihe's words: "I walked out from the folds of the mountains, and I have returned to the folds of the mountains. This is my home. My roots are here, my heart is here, my dream is here. I want to unite with my fellow villagers, twist ourselves into a rope, and work together to overcome difficulties and strive for moderate prosperity, to repay this land for the grace of raising me. For this I have no regrets!"