Tongxiang cooperative explores a new model for manor tourism development

In Tongxiang City, Zhejiang Province, a number of cooperatives are drawing on their own existing specialties to explore a distinctive business model of "specialty agriculture + manor tourism," extending from agriculture into the service sector.

The Yunbei Straw Utilization Professional Cooperative, located in Longxiang Subdistrict, Tongxiang City, was originally an agricultural economic cooperative that used straw to raise Hu sheep. Since the beginning of this year, cooperative head Wang Hongfei has turned the cooperative into a 26-mu Hu sheep manor. The manor displays various aspects of Hu sheep culture and also provides visitors with a place to eat, stay and have fun.

Agricultural products have long production cycles and are greatly affected by market conditions, and Hu sheep are no exception. Last year, the Hu sheep sales market was sluggish, and Wang Hongfei's cooperative also faced the danger of losing money. After a hard year's work, he was still facing a loss, so Wang Hongfei wondered: could he go into the business of processing and selling mutton himself?

Wang Hongfei then partnered with a Tongxiang food processing company to develop vacuum-packed braised mutton products, which were sold not only online but also at highway service areas.

After opening up the intermediate links between production and sales, Wang Hongfei found that the harvest was finally better than in previous years. "The income from selling vacuum-packed products is about 3 times that of selling live sheep directly," Wang Hongfei said.

Selling mutton alone was only the beginning of the cooperative's transformation. Wang Hongfei tried combining agriculture with the service sector to build a Hu sheep manor. This year, on top of raising Hu sheep as before, Wang Hongfei also introduced many ornamental breeds, turning the cooperative into a small scenic area. During the "May Day" holiday alone, it attracted nearly 2,000 visitors.

Wang Hongfei's Hu sheep manor has now become one of the first 5 manors in Tongxiang City to pass star-rated assessment. "In addition to the Hu sheep culture corridor that has already been built, in the future we will also build a sheep culture museum to make the manor economy more refined," Wang Hongfei said.

In addition to the Hu sheep manor, Wu Bingjiang, a major chicken farmer in Fengming Subdistrict, Tongxiang City, has turned his own farm into a smart "free-range chicken manor," where visitors can also use QR codes to order food and pay.

Lu Yuedong, Secretary of the Tongxiang Municipal Party Committee, said that Tongxiang aims to build China's largest manor cluster. During the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, it will build about 100 large, medium and small manors that meet standards and specifications and are of high quality, forming China's largest manor tourism area.

Lu Ye