Rural cleanup campaign brings major changes to the living environment
Rural cleanup campaign brings major changes
(Agricultural Wealth Network) The beautiful scenery and enchanting customs have captivated countless Chinese and foreign tourists visiting Longsheng. However, in the past, the dirty, chaotic, smelly and poor rural environment of Longsheng was extremely incompatible with the state of Longsheng's tourism development. Starting in 2002, the Longsheng Various Nationalities Autonomous County began carrying out a major rural cleanup campaign in a step-by-step manner to thoroughly change the environmental sanitation conditions in rural areas. Up to now, the county has 85 civilized villages at various levels, and 422 villages have been awarded the title of "Civilized and Sanitary Village" by Guilin City. The rural environmental sanitation conditions have been greatly improved, and a trend of civility has gradually taken shape.
Adapting measures to local conditions to change the rural landscape
In Longsheng, farmers call the major rural cleanup campaign "an image project that is not an 'image project'." It is said not to be an "image project" because the rural cleanup campaign is not a "political achievement project" for leaders, but genuinely starts from the needs of rural areas and farmers, adapting measures to local conditions to change the rural landscape.
In order to prevent this work from becoming a mere formality, Longsheng put great effort into the major rural cleanup campaign.
First, model villages led the way. Aobei Village is a remote small mountain village in Longsheng County. After the major rural cleanup campaign began in 2003, Aobei Village's environmental sanitation became as beautiful as its landscape. It receives 20,000 tourists every year and has also attracted groups of visitors from various villages and stockaded villages in Longsheng to learn from it. The visiting people said: Aobei is so remote and it could still be done well, so we can do it too.
The major rural cleanup campaign is not an "image project" also because this work is not superficial or short-term. The targets of cleanup are not only villages by the roadside, but more importantly some isolated small mountain villages that few people visit.
The major rural cleanup campaign has thoroughly changed the rural environmental sanitation conditions and farmers' lifestyles, showcasing a new image of rural areas. Therefore, it is also an image project, and a very good image project at that. At present, more than 60 villages and stockaded villages in Longsheng have developed agritourism. These villages and stockaded villages have rich ethnic customs, clean environments and distinctive features, attracting more than 300,000 tourists every year who come specifically to visit. The new image of rural areas makes even well-traveled tour guides linger and not want to leave.
During the improvement work, officials and farmers ate together, lived together and worked together. Farmers saw the new image of officials governing for the people. The county and township staff who were mainly responsible for this work traveled to hundreds of villages throughout the county, guiding and serving the masses in carrying out the major rural cleanup campaign, and were deeply loved by the people.
The transformation of rural environmental sanitation
Conducting investigation and research in rural Longsheng, what I saw was a clean and tidy environment, what I heard was the hearty laughter of farmers from the bottom of their hearts, and what I experienced was comfortable and fresh rural life.
Longsheng has a lot of rain. In the past, rural roads were muddy and difficult to walk on, and at night farmers could only stay in their own homes. Now, public places in the villages and the road surfaces in front of and behind houses have all been repaired, and the roads have been hardened. Bai Kunfu, who is over 80 years old from Shuangdong Village, said: "Now I'm not afraid of falling when I go out. I dare to go out visiting with my eyes closed!"
Previously, household garbage in rural Longsheng was either piled up in courtyards or dumped in front of and behind houses. The villages were full of smelly garbage dumps everywhere. Now, farmers are like city dwellers: they put garbage in bags and throw it into garbage bins, and a big pit is dug in the village's open space for centralized burning and landfill.
Now, every household has built a dry toilet or flush toilet in their own courtyard, and the excrement flows into biogas pits. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization once organized relevant officials from more than 10 countries to make a special trip to Longsheng for inspection, and they praised it endlessly.
The villages are clean, and the people have also begun to develop good hygiene habits. Even children know to wash their hands before eating, wash fruits and melons before eating them, and not drink unboiled water. Some village doctors reported: with the improvement of environmental sanitation, fewer people are getting sick.
A historic task for rural areas moving toward modern civilization
Rural environmental sanitation conditions are an important standard for measuring farmers' quality of life and a historic task faced in the process of rural areas moving toward modern civilization and building a harmonious society. The major rural cleanup campaign in Longsheng has given us some insights.
First, the scientific outlook on development should be implemented not only in cities, but also in the practice of rural areas striving for moderate prosperity in all respects. Rural areas also need sustainable development.
The work of renovating toilets and building biogas facilities alone has brought a series of changes along the ecological chain to rural Longsheng, making humans and nature more harmonious: farmers no longer need to go up the mountains to cut trees and firewood, protecting the mountain forests; clean biogas energy is used for cooking and lighting, reducing farmers' electricity use; biogas wastewater is used to water vegetables and spray pesticides, growing pollution-free vegetables; trees planted on filled garbage pits grow especially well...
Second, the construction of spiritual civilization in rural areas must have an appropriate entry point and carrier. Longsheng took the improvement of rural environmental sanitation as the entry point for building spiritual civilization, linking the building of spiritual civilization with farmers' actual lives. Farmers originally felt that rural spiritual civilization was very far from them, but now they have realized that rural spiritual civilization construction is not only right beside them, but has also genuinely improved their lives. Some people think rural environmental sanitation is a small matter, but small matters may seem easy yet are very difficult to change, requiring concerted efforts from top to bottom and solid work.
Hou Fengjiao, 56 years old from Lipai Village, Sishui Township, said that now "nightlife" is very rich: listening to various lectures on science and technology, rule of law, and education, and also doing yangge dancing and watching performances. The improvement of environmental sanitation conditions has brought many new trends to Lipai Village: villagers participate in activities together more often, communicate more, and have fewer conflicts. The once widely known "troublemaker village" has become a city-level "Civilized and Sanitary Village."
In addition, the improvement of rural environmental sanitation is a long-term historic task. Longsheng has more than 1,600 natural villages in total. This rural cleanup campaign touches on rural bad habits "inherited" for thousands of years, and the difficulty can be well imagined.
Adapting measures to local conditions to change the rural landscape
In Longsheng, farmers call the major rural cleanup campaign "an image project that is not an 'image project'." It is said not to be an "image project" because the rural cleanup campaign is not a "political achievement project" for leaders, but genuinely starts from the needs of rural areas and farmers, adapting measures to local conditions to change the rural landscape.
In order to prevent this work from becoming a mere formality, Longsheng put great effort into the major rural cleanup campaign.
First, model villages led the way. Aobei Village is a remote small mountain village in Longsheng County. After the major rural cleanup campaign began in 2003, Aobei Village's environmental sanitation became as beautiful as its landscape. It receives 20,000 tourists every year and has also attracted groups of visitors from various villages and stockaded villages in Longsheng to learn from it. The visiting people said: Aobei is so remote and it could still be done well, so we can do it too.
The major rural cleanup campaign is not an "image project" also because this work is not superficial or short-term. The targets of cleanup are not only villages by the roadside, but more importantly some isolated small mountain villages that few people visit.
The major rural cleanup campaign has thoroughly changed the rural environmental sanitation conditions and farmers' lifestyles, showcasing a new image of rural areas. Therefore, it is also an image project, and a very good image project at that. At present, more than 60 villages and stockaded villages in Longsheng have developed agritourism. These villages and stockaded villages have rich ethnic customs, clean environments and distinctive features, attracting more than 300,000 tourists every year who come specifically to visit. The new image of rural areas makes even well-traveled tour guides linger and not want to leave.
During the improvement work, officials and farmers ate together, lived together and worked together. Farmers saw the new image of officials governing for the people. The county and township staff who were mainly responsible for this work traveled to hundreds of villages throughout the county, guiding and serving the masses in carrying out the major rural cleanup campaign, and were deeply loved by the people.
The transformation of rural environmental sanitation
Conducting investigation and research in rural Longsheng, what I saw was a clean and tidy environment, what I heard was the hearty laughter of farmers from the bottom of their hearts, and what I experienced was comfortable and fresh rural life.
Longsheng has a lot of rain. In the past, rural roads were muddy and difficult to walk on, and at night farmers could only stay in their own homes. Now, public places in the villages and the road surfaces in front of and behind houses have all been repaired, and the roads have been hardened. Bai Kunfu, who is over 80 years old from Shuangdong Village, said: "Now I'm not afraid of falling when I go out. I dare to go out visiting with my eyes closed!"
Previously, household garbage in rural Longsheng was either piled up in courtyards or dumped in front of and behind houses. The villages were full of smelly garbage dumps everywhere. Now, farmers are like city dwellers: they put garbage in bags and throw it into garbage bins, and a big pit is dug in the village's open space for centralized burning and landfill.
Now, every household has built a dry toilet or flush toilet in their own courtyard, and the excrement flows into biogas pits. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization once organized relevant officials from more than 10 countries to make a special trip to Longsheng for inspection, and they praised it endlessly.
The villages are clean, and the people have also begun to develop good hygiene habits. Even children know to wash their hands before eating, wash fruits and melons before eating them, and not drink unboiled water. Some village doctors reported: with the improvement of environmental sanitation, fewer people are getting sick.
A historic task for rural areas moving toward modern civilization
Rural environmental sanitation conditions are an important standard for measuring farmers' quality of life and a historic task faced in the process of rural areas moving toward modern civilization and building a harmonious society. The major rural cleanup campaign in Longsheng has given us some insights.
First, the scientific outlook on development should be implemented not only in cities, but also in the practice of rural areas striving for moderate prosperity in all respects. Rural areas also need sustainable development.
The work of renovating toilets and building biogas facilities alone has brought a series of changes along the ecological chain to rural Longsheng, making humans and nature more harmonious: farmers no longer need to go up the mountains to cut trees and firewood, protecting the mountain forests; clean biogas energy is used for cooking and lighting, reducing farmers' electricity use; biogas wastewater is used to water vegetables and spray pesticides, growing pollution-free vegetables; trees planted on filled garbage pits grow especially well...
Second, the construction of spiritual civilization in rural areas must have an appropriate entry point and carrier. Longsheng took the improvement of rural environmental sanitation as the entry point for building spiritual civilization, linking the building of spiritual civilization with farmers' actual lives. Farmers originally felt that rural spiritual civilization was very far from them, but now they have realized that rural spiritual civilization construction is not only right beside them, but has also genuinely improved their lives. Some people think rural environmental sanitation is a small matter, but small matters may seem easy yet are very difficult to change, requiring concerted efforts from top to bottom and solid work.
Hou Fengjiao, 56 years old from Lipai Village, Sishui Township, said that now "nightlife" is very rich: listening to various lectures on science and technology, rule of law, and education, and also doing yangge dancing and watching performances. The improvement of environmental sanitation conditions has brought many new trends to Lipai Village: villagers participate in activities together more often, communicate more, and have fewer conflicts. The once widely known "troublemaker village" has become a city-level "Civilized and Sanitary Village."
In addition, the improvement of rural environmental sanitation is a long-term historic task. Longsheng has more than 1,600 natural villages in total. This rural cleanup campaign touches on rural bad habits "inherited" for thousands of years, and the difficulty can be well imagined.