The Phoenix Valley model sets rural tourism on the path to shared prosperity
They created the Phoenix Valley model of shared prosperity through rural tourism
Li Tingxian
Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets. In Phoenix Valley Village, Kang County, Longnan City, Gansu Province, the lucid waters and lush mountains of the past used to accompany a filthy, messy and poor mountain village,2014Since that year, a rural tourism company registered under the name Phoenix Valley has completely changed the fate of this village. Villager Shi Deyi is the manager of the Phoenix Valley Rural Tourism Resort Company. He said: villagers set up the tourism resort company by buying shares, and developing together as a group helps to lift poor households out of poverty, helps villagers unite and cooperate, and achieve shared prosperity.
Shi Deyi30In his [age] years, in order to develop rural tourism, he made a special trip to Huaxi Village, Zhongguancun and other places to visit and learn. After mastering the basic rules of operating a rural tourism resort, he began to discuss with the villagers setting up their own company. Soon they gained the support of the assisting units, the county Party committee and county government, the town Party committee and town government, the village Party branch, and the village committee. He rented more than ten idle private houses and renovated them uniformly; a resort with only70more than [number] beds2015officially opened on May Day of that year. Tourists often filled it to capacity, which surprised the villagers who had previously been doubtful. Now, Shi Deyi is thinking about expanding the rural guesthouse, so as to avoid the problem of tourists having nowhere to stay when they come in the summer and autumn of this year.
Shi Deyi told of something that happened2015in [year]5on a night in [month], when a tour group of [number] people from Lanzhou29entered Phoenix Valley late at night, but there was not a single empty bed left. The tour group was willing to pay to find an empty lot to pitch tents. Shi Deyi said the open space could be provided, but no money would be taken. On the cultural square in front of the village stage, Shi Deyi arranged for staff to set up electric lights, freed up a bed for the driver, and the next morning also prepared breakfast for this tour group. Such kind and warm hospitality won praise from the tourists, and since then the number of visitors from Lanzhou has continued to increase.
Every household's courtyard in Phoenix Valley is paved with grey bricks, one household next to another, with no courtyard walls separating them. There is a small river in the village; the water is not large, and it has been made into a terraced waterscape, so the murmuring sound of the water can be heard clearly from far away. These environmental conditions and later refinements gave Phoenix Valley Village a uniquely advantaged position for developing rural tourism.
"As the village Party branch secretary, when the tourism company was established, the first thing I thought of was helping the poor people out of poverty and toward prosperity." In today's Kang County Phoenix Valley Rural Tourism Resort Co., Ltd., village Party secretary Shi Zuohong serves as chairman of the board, and Shi Deyi serves as manager. Part of the company's funds were subsidized by the Longnan Municipal Party Committee Organization Department and the Kang County Chengguan Town Government, which carried out the assistance work, while the rest of the funds were raised through shares pooled by17village households, to develop rural homestay summer resort tourism and drive everyone to prosperity together. Under the company there is an integrated industrial chain including farmhouse restaurants, farmhouse inns, and online and physical stores for local specialty products.
In order to develop rural tourism, the village built a village history museum, a farmhouse library, and so on, and achieved full-village wireless network coverage.
Authentic farmhouse charm, green mountains and lucid waters attracted many out-of-town tourists and quickly brought Phoenix Valley's people substantial tourism income.2015In [year]12[month]25[day], the Phoenix Valley Tourism Resort Company carried out its first profit distribution. Shi Zuohong said:“Previously, our village's per capita income was less than3000yuan,2015and by [year] it reached8000yuan.”
The poor household of Zuo Hualan received3000yuan in company dividends and1000yuan in targeted poverty alleviation bonus. She told reporters that several years ago, because her father and husband fell ill, her family spent all its money, and she alone still had to support two children; life was very hard. "With this dividend and award, my family's income can reach more than 20,000 yuan."
Phoenix Valley Village is located2.5kilometers from Kang County seat. The whole village has235households and800more than [number] people. Although it is relatively close to the county seat, its basic conditions were backward, the people's production and living conditions were poor, and the villagers' awareness of self-development was not strong. The vast majority of villagers made a living from traditional farming, and apart from meeting basic food and clothing needs, they had little money left in hand. By the end of2011[year], the village's per capita net income was only2845yuan.
Since2012the "Twin Connections" action was launched that year, with the help of the Twin Connections units, the village began building a new countryside, demolished the old dilapidated houses and built today's small Western-style buildings; treated the former stinking ditches, built new roads, built a cultural square, and beautified the village appearance. The former poor village, backward village and filthy, messy village became a picturesque new countryside.
The Kang County Phoenix Valley Rural Tourism Resort Company was born under such conditions.
"At that time, not only the village collective and13village households bought shares and became shareholders, but the village's19poor households were also included as company shareholders, raising3510,000 yuan in financing, with a promise to share in the dividends at the end of the year." Village Party secretary Shi Zuohong said that after less than a year of operation, so far the company's total business revenue has reached11410,000 yuan, and year-end profit has reached4610,000 yuan. Of the annual profit, after deducting next year's development reserve fund, all the remainder is distributed according to shares1：1for distribution.
Shi Deyi is the general manager of the Phoenix Valley Rural Tourism Resort Company and received a dividend of15000yuan from the company. "Since the village set up the tourism resort company, my idle house has become an inn, the kitchen has become the company's pastry room, and my wife has also become an employee. Since then, the family that depended entirely on me alone for support has changed enormously, and our whole family's income this year has reached6more than 10,000 yuan, making us a comfortably-off household in the village." Holding the dividend he had received, Shi Deyi said excitedly. "As the company's general manager, from now on, while getting rich myself, I will do a good job in the company's management and operations, earn more money for the company, and let everyone achieve shared prosperity and strive for a comfortable life."
Company chairman and village Party secretary Shi Zuohong is full of confidence in the village's future development. "This year our village's per capita disposable income has already reached8000yuan, quadrupling compared with2012[year]. Now the whole village's common goal is to build a comfortably-off village by2017[year]." Shi Zuohong said that the successful operation of the tourism resort company has driven5households to raise pigs and chickens, and more than ten households to grow vegetables.2016In [year], every household will also plant cherry trees and develop sightseeing cherry orchards.
At Phoenix Valley Village's profit distribution and share expansion meeting this time,18shareholders who bought shares in the rural tourism resort company and19poor households, as well as100more than [number] village households, received dividends and awards totaling more than9210,000 yuan, of which the village collective share dividend was155000yuan, and19poor households each received3000yuan from the collective share. There were42households with per capita income exceeding12000yuan that received the "Take the Lead in Moderate Prosperity Award",18households that received the "Targeted Poverty Alleviation Award", and88households that received the "Moderate Prosperity Construction Award"
Phoenix Valley Village's19poor households had long awaited their "year-end bonus" - the dividends from the village's rural tourism resort company, which made them "burst with joy."
At present, the tourism resort company has18shareholders,38management and service personnel, and has built9farmhouse inns,3farmhouse restaurants and an agricultural and local products sales center, and280mu of agricultural sightseeing and picking gardens.
"Since the tourism resort company was put into operation,8months, total business revenue has reached12010,000 yuan, and year-end profit46.4810,000 yuan, of which34.910,000 yuan of profit was distributed according to shares1:1for distribution. This year in9[month], the Phoenix Valley Village construction engineering team was established and achieved a profit of2210,000 yuan, and all the profit was distributed to the engineering team at once." Shi Zuohong said.
Phoenix Valley Village was formerly called Shijia Gully. The village's renaming came from the phoenix-like rebirth it underwent in recent years, a thorough transformation. It not only leaped to become a premium village in the province's beautiful countryside construction, but also became a famous rural tourism attraction that people in big cities yearn for. At present, Phoenix Valley Village has formed a rural tourism model of walking into a beautiful countryside, experiencing farm life, and carrying out health and wellness vacations, focusing on building and developing a rural leisure and wellness tourism service brand.
“We had thought living in a new house would already be good enough, but we never expected one good thing after another.”Speaking of rural tourism, village Party secretary Shi Zuohong sighed with emotion.
In“the "Ten Villages, One Hundred Households, One Thousand Beds"”project creation, Phoenix Valley Village was once again listed as a demonstration site. Through the implementation of this project, more“distant guests are made to stay”。
At Phoenix Valley's Yunshi Inn, several standard rooms had neatly made and clean beds, with television, bathroom and other facilities all complete.“These were all built uniformly according to the county's requirements.”Shi Zuohong said Phoenix Valley Village has already built8farmhouse inns,29guest rooms, and74beds, and can seat200people for meals at one time. Phoenix Valley Village has achievedWIFIfull coverage. It is even more convenient in the process of developing rural tourism, strengthening the foundation and laying the groundwork offline, while also doing promotion and boosting sales online.“Now when traveling here, online booking can also be done.”
It has set up1agricultural and sideline local specialty products sales centers, and1e-commerce Taobao online stores, where purchases can be made online or on site. According to reports,“around New Year's Day,”many tourists made single purchases of several thousand yuan. After buying on site, the merchants then send the goods back by express delivery. Farmhouse restaurants, farmhouse inns, local tourism product development, local agricultural product shopping, agricultural industry sightseeing, farming and rural culture experiences, and leisure vacations……these are all within the company's business scope.
From the very beginning, Shi Zuohong included the village's10especially poor households in the company, with each household contributing3000yuan in shares(with help from the Twin Connections unit,1000, town government assistance of1000yuan, and poor households' own contributions of1000yuan), and at year's end they were given dividends.
In line with the subsidy standards for returning farmland to forest, the company transferred land from farming households120mu to create an agricultural picking and sightseeing garden, planting cherries, Chinese kiwifruit, and pollution-free vegetables.
“May Day”“New Year's Day”During the short holiday, tourists filled the place, with about500people every day, most of them from Lanzhou, Tianshui, Baiyin, and Lueyang.“After the beds in several inns were full and no more could be accommodated, many tourists pitched tents on the village square, and it was very lively once evening came.”Shi Zuohong's mobile phone still stores the photos taken at that time.
“Rural tourism brings the greatest benefits to farming households.”Shi Zuohong said that during the peak days of the May Day tourism season, it felt as if the visitors had eaten every free-range chicken in all of Kang County. With the development of rural tourism, all of the village's agricultural and sideline products have become raw materials for the company's restaurants, and it has now spurred5households of villagers to raise free-range chickens under contract orders, while the cultivation of other local specialties is also gradually being driven forward.
Wang Xuemei, who works at a farmhouse restaurant, said that she earns every month1500yuan in basic salary; in addition, the company has a set of incentive measures, so she receives some bonus every month, and she works with great enthusiasm.
【746000 Li Tingxian, Reporting Group of the Longnan Municipal Party Committee]