District development system promotes rural vitalization in Zhejiang

A bike path winds through a tea plantation in Gangdun village, Kuangyan town, Cixi county-level city, Ningbo city, Zhejiang province. (Xinhua/Xu Yu)

The three villages in southern Kuangyan town, Cixi county-level city, Ningbo city, Zhejiang province – high-elevation Gangdun, foothill-situated Changlong, and low-lying Qianbing – have been developing tourism offerings that take advantage of their culture, history, and featured agricultural products over the last few years. The efforts led to 80,000 more tourists visiting the area than usual, an additional 1 million yuan (US$156,800) of agritainment-oriented profit being achieved, and tea and waxberry output value increasing by 53.8 percent and 18.6 percent, respectively, in 2020.

In recent years, Cixi has been implementing a growth model involving “Party building promoting the development of a group of rural hamlets.” The system entails two or more villages in a given district forming a group, discussing their affairs together, pooling their resources, integrating their industrial advantages, and engaging in shared development. It is estimated that 50 percent of the villages in Cixi’s eight city-level and 18 township-level districts will be participating in the scheme by the end of 2021.