How Xu Deyan Makes a Success of His Ecological Path to Wealth

"In Bikou, many people know Jianzigou, because someone there raises giant salamanders, and their giant salamander nourishing soup in particular is really flavorful." Not long ago, introduced by a diner, the reporter visited Xu Deyan's giant salamander breeding base to learn about his ecological way of making money.

Going 14 km south from Bikou Town in Wen County, the reporter, guided by local residents, found Jianzigou Community in Shuihaoping Village, where Xu Deyan's home is located. Here, surrounded by mountains, the ecology is sound, the stream water is so clear you can see the bottom, and the breeding base blends into the natural environment. More than 3,000 juvenile giant salamanders and more than 1,000 commercial giant salamanders are growing well; in particular, more than 200 breeding giant salamanders are regarded by Xu Deyan as treasures.

"Look, my biggest breeding giant salamander weighs 32 jin and is the treasure of my farm. Someone offered 500,000 yuan, and I still couldn't bear to sell it," Xu Deyan said proudly.

Xu Deyan was once an employee of a state-owned enterprise. After the company went bankrupt, he was laid off and had to find his own way. While rushing about here and there, he realized that his hometown's sound ecological environment held the secret to wealth. Starting in 2007, Xu Deyan tried his hand at breeding giant salamanders while also running a rural guesthouse, and he even set up a professional cooperative to lead villagers in growing tea, which let him and his fellow villagers get a taste of success.

"Our giant salamanders are truly raised in an original ecological way. Using mountain spring water for breeding is the special feature of our farm," Xu Deyan said.

At present, although the market price of artificially bred giant salamanders has fallen sharply, the Wuguan Expressway has brought good opportunities to rural tourism here. Xu Deyan is very optimistic about developing rural tourism. He uses nearly 10 mu of transferred land as a giant salamander breeding base, and, along with tea garden sightseeing, has developed a rural inn integrating dining, leisure and accommodation. In peak season, it can receive about 200 tourists per day; among them, quite a few come from Beijing, Chengdu and other places after hearing of it. In this year's summer and autumn seasons alone, it received more than 3,000 tourists. Driven by Xu Deyan, the Wen County Yuanquan Farmers' Professional Planting Cooperative was established in Jianzigou Village. Seven member households grow more than 120 mu of Longjing 43 and other tea varieties, and villagers can gain quite a lot without leaving the village.

Speaking of future development, Xu Deyan said: "Compared with Sichuan and Shaanxi, our tourism industry still lags far behind. We will seek people with financial strength to develop together and jointly create a new tourism environment." He also said: "To develop rural tourism, online marketing is more effective. I hope the government can help solve the problem of no internet access."

As for how the village can band together to develop original ecological rural tourism, Xu Deyan has a very complete plan in mind. He firmly believes that in the near future, it will surely achieve leapfrog development.