Pumpkin Farming in Xintian County, Hunan Blazes a Trail to Prosperity, Mountain Village Builds a Big Farm

A Remote Little Mountain Village Welcomes Visitors Every Day

"For generations we never had enough to eat; we survived by selling a bit of firewood and grass." More than 10 years ago, this was the true picture of Xinwuchang Village in Lianhua Township, Xintian County. At its worst, this little mountain village had more than 20 "bachelors."

At the end of November, however, village Party secretary Liu Daozhong proudly told reporters: "This year alone, the village has built 40 small Western-style houses, each costing more than 300,000 yuan. Nine elderly residents under the five-guarantee system have moved into new homes of 35 sq m per person."

Xinwuchang Village is a resettlement village from when Jinling Reservoir was built in 1958, and it has less than 5 fen of land per person. What brought about such a huge change in Xinwuchang Village?

Pumpkins Blaze a Trail to Prosperity

Liu Daozhong was born in 1965 and went south to Guangdong to work in 1981. He recalled: "At the time, I just wanted to get out and have enough to eat."

In 2001, Liu Daozhong discovered that local vegetables were very popular in Guangdong. So he tried shipping vegetables to Guangzhou for sale using passenger buses from the county, earning more than 300 yuan per trip.

In 2003, Liu Daozhong returned to the village and trial-planted 1 mu of "Yichuanling" small pumpkins, earning nearly 5,000 yuan. The next year, he persuaded villagers to grow them. More than 10 poor households, including Liao Jianlin, were won over, and that year 30 mu of small pumpkins were grown. Liao Jianlin's 2 mu of small pumpkins brought in more than 10,000 yuan.

By 2007, villagers had also transferred cultivated land from neighboring villages, growing 1,100 mu of contract vegetables.

Mountain Village Builds a Big Farm

In 2010, Liu Daozhong got to know Ou Jingtai, the person in charge of Guangdong Dongsheng Farm. After inspecting Xinwuchang, Ou Jingtai believed that this place, surrounded by mountains with fertile soil, was suitable for developing organic vegetable cultivation. The plan was to transfer contiguous cultivated land for 30 years, improve infrastructure, and create Xintian County Dongsheng Farm.

When villagers heard the news, they went to Liu Daozhong one after another: "If the land is given to you, what will we eat in the future?"

"It was only two years later that everyone felt safe transferring the cultivated land to the farm," said villager Lai Dakun, 76 this year. His 2 mu of land brings in 1,000 yuan in rent each year, and he and his wife work on the farm, earning more than 39,000 yuan a year. He told reporters: "This brings in more income than farming ourselves, and more importantly, there is no risk."

In 2012, the farm transferred more than 5,000 mu of cultivated land in Xinwuchang and the neighboring villages of Leigongwo, Gangshang and others. More than 36 million yuan was invested in hardening irrigation canals, building drip irrigation systems, cold storage and more. The vegetables are mainly sold to Hong Kong, China, Macao, China and Singapore.

At present, the farm employs more than 600 long-term workers, with an average age of 56. In Xinwuchang Village, 70% of households have someone working on the farm, and the whole village has developed a model in which skilled young people work elsewhere while older "post-50s" work on the farm.

Villager Qiu Yunzhong has a family of 7; his son and daughter-in-law work elsewhere. He, his wife, and his parents, who are in their 70s, all work on the farm, with per capita income of more than 20,000 yuan.

Sightseeing Agriculture Promotes Moderate Prosperity

Sightseeing paths have appeared in the lush vegetable fields, and new landscapes have been built by the mountains and water... Reporters saw that sightseeing agriculture is rising in Xinwuchang Village.

Last May, after Liu Daozhong was elected village Party secretary in the village branch re-election, he led the villagers in developing sightseeing agriculture based on the farm.

Villager Liu Daochun, who does management work on the farm, introduced: "Tourists can experience the fun of picking and processing vegetables, watch the whole process of vegetable refrigeration and dehydration, and take part in tourism projects such as fishing and camping. Every household in the village participates in the tourism industry."

"Visitors come every day, and the home-brewed rice wine also sells for a good price," said villager Peng Jingdong. He and his wife worked on the farm for 5 years, built a small Western-style house, and then started a farmstay.

Liu Daozhong picked up the thread and said: "This year, the village's per capita net income will be at least more than 10,000 yuan, and it is expected to grow substantially next year. We are planning 50 housing units to provide free housing of more than 35 sq m per person for villagers aged 60 and above. We will further improve various welfare benefits and strive for the whole village to achieve moderate prosperity next year!"