Giant Salamanders in Runan, Henan Open the Door to Villagers' Prosperity
The giant salamander, known scientifically as the Chinese giant salamander, is a class-two nationally protected amphibian wild animal that lives year-round in mountain streams in the wild, and few people have ever seen its "true form." But Sun Shengguan of Runan County spotted a business opportunity in the giant salamander. After obtaining a breeding permit, he began raising giant salamanders and even brought them to the dining table, turning them into a delicacy enjoyed by city residents. At the same time, he founded a cooperative that attracted over a hundred member households to join, getting more villagers to start raising giant salamanders and making it another "magic weapon" for increasing income and becoming prosperous.
The reporter drove to Suntun Village in Sudianhu Subdistrict. This place lies beside Suya Lake, where fishery breeding is very well developed, and Sun Shengguan's aquaculture cooperative was established right here. The Runan County Xuqiang Aquaculture Cooperative, made up of over a hundred member households, breeds a very rich variety of species, including soft-shelled turtles, crayfish, and goats, but what makes Sun Shengguan proudest is the successful breeding of the Chinese giant salamander.
Arriving at Sun Shengguan's giant salamander breeding base and walking into one pitch-black room after another, one hears only the sound of flowing water. When lit with a flashlight, it turns out the rooms are filled with small pools built of cement, and all the pools are stocked with giant salamanders. Some of these giant salamanders are nearly one meter long, while others are still fry; when they sense the light, they begin to retreat. Sun Shengguan told the reporter that giant salamanders like low-temperature, dark, and damp environments, and that raising them requires great care, frequent observation, and familiarity with their growth habits.
Speaking of his original motivation for breeding giant salamanders, Sun Shengguan said that a chance opportunity let him see the business opportunity in giant salamander breeding, so he conducted investigations and studies in many places, and leveraging the unique advantage of Suya Lake's abundant fish resources and the natural environment, he began his breeding journey.
Once he had mastered the techniques, Sun Shengguan gradually began to expand the breeding scale. After testing that his hometown's water quality and climate met the standards, Sun Shengguan and the cooperative members jointly invested more than 20 million yuan to build a wild giant salamander domestication and breeding base. At the same time, they also set up a farmhouse restaurant, combining breeding with dining and bringing giant salamanders to the table. Today, the giant salamanders raised by Sun Shengguan are not only sold at his own farmhouse restaurant and base, but he has also reached a cooperation agreement with a catering company in Zhengzhou, supplying ten tons of Chinese giant salamanders annually for sales and authorized product development within the Zhengzhou area.
Today, Sun Shengguan's Chinese giant salamander breeding business is thriving. The factory area has two large breeding workshops, covering an area of 45 mu, and raises nearly 230,000 giant salamanders. This year, it can reach 200,000 jin of commercial fish for sale, with profits of around 15 million yuan, an output value of about 120 million yuan, and products sold to the outskirts of major cities such as Zhengzhou, Beijing, and Guangdong. The cooperative has also been rated as a Ministry of Agriculture aquaculture health demonstration farm and a Zhumadian City farmer cooperative demonstration cooperative, and has become a council member unit of the Henan Province Chinese Giant Salamander Protection and Development Association.
Becoming prosperous without forgetting his fellow villagers. In order to help local villagers increase their income, Sun Shengguan established a giant salamander breeding cooperative. The cooperative adopts forms such as capital or land shares, growing from just a few people at first to over a hundred now. It drives the people around Runan County to participate in wild giant salamander breeding through fully funded contract breeding or teaching techniques for self-breeding.