A view of Gujiatai village on June 24, 2023 Photo: Courtesy of Luo Daqing and Li Yuliang

Editor's Note: China Rural Revitalization magazine has published a series of articles on the rapid development of rural areas in China with new transformations. The articles reflect the arduous efforts of rural revitalization across China, which is an important and genuine solution to China's rural economic development. In the future, articles carefully selected from this series will be published.

The rugged Taihang Mountains once trapped Fuping county, North China's Hebei Province, in poverty for generations. Now, the song of prosperity and happiness echoes through the region as the people of Fuping, with support from the government's poverty alleviation policies, have forged multiple paths to prosperity.

Chinese President Xi Jinping braved the ghastly winter temperatures to visit Luotuowan and Gujiatai, two of Fuping's impoverished villages set deep in the Taihang Mountains at the end of 2012. It was the first of a myriad of inspection tours dipping into the country's underdeveloped regions for Xi as the top Chinese leader.

Chatting with villagers, Xi was particularly concerned with difficulties they faced in their daily lives, such as problems concerning their income, food, education and medical care.

The austere living conditions were astounding. With similar hardship still haunting millions of impoverished people in China's rural areas, Xi knew there was no time to waste.
 
In 2013, Fuping county sounded the trumpet for marching toward moderate prosperity, or Xiaokang in Chinese. Fuping invited experts in agriculture and forestry to have a review of its local conditions and they discovered that its natural conditions were particularly suitable for cultivating edible mushrooms.

The local governments teamed up with enterprises to offer farmers comprehensive support, including providing subsidies, offering technical guidance, and taking charge of sales. This allowed farmers to concentrate solely on the cultivation process.

Fuping people have continued to innovate, developing highly efficient techniques for cultivating edible mushrooms and constructing large greenhouse sheds. While mushrooms are typically harvested once a year in other places, Fuping can harvest mushrooms three times in two years, ensuring there is no idle period throughout the year and thus greatly improving land utilization.

Now, the local edible mushroom cooperative has been upgraded to a production enterprise, which has adopted advanced technologies and built an intelligent mushroom-raising workshop, realizing an industrialized and assembly-line production mode.

As of December 2023, the edible mushrooms industry in Fuping has reached over 140 administrative villages, benefiting more than 38,000 people, which accounts for over 30 percent of the rural population in the county.

Paths toward Xiaokang

Mushroom cultivation is just one of the paths to prosperity for the people of Fuping. Leveraging the county's historical resources, Fuping has actively developed "red tourism," which refers to visiting historical sites featuring a modern revolutionary legacy. From constructing homestays to establishing food streets, the county ramped up efforts to attract visitors from across the country.

During the peak tourism season in 2023, it was difficult to book a room at homestays in Fuping's Luotuowan village, with the average revenue of 41 homestays increasing by over 7,000 yuan ($967).

Through collective efforts, farmers in Fuping county have found more ways to increase their income. 

Mushroom cultivation, "red tourism," high-yield forestry and fruit, and handicrafts have stood out as the four leading industries that have helped the local people raise their incomes, while distinctive breeding and traditional Chinese medicine are also flourishing.

As of the end of 2023, the local mushroom planting area had reached 21,000 mu (1,400 hectares), with an output value of nearly 1 billion yuan ($138 million), benefiting 15,438 households and 38,350 people, leading to an annual increase in income of 350 million yuan.

Fuping also received 3.11 million tourists by that time, generating a comprehensive tourism income of 2.157 billion yuan. The development of 231 family handicraft processing facilities has led to an annual output value exceeding 1 billion yuan, benefiting over 7,000 households, with an average annual income of around 20,000 yuan per household.

Gu Jincheng (right), Party chief of Gujiatai village,and Yang Weiyan,a Gujiatai villager,check the growth of mushrooms at the local greenhouse on July 9, 2023. Photo: Courtesy of Cao Jianping

Comprehensive development

Over the past decade, Fuping has not only lifted itself out of absolute poverty but also entered an era of comprehensive development. It first addressed infrastructure shortcomings by significantly upgrading water and electricity supplies, roads and internet access. Through the construction of beautiful rural areas, it enhanced the overall appearance and environment of the villages.

A growing number of young people who had left their hometowns for education and employment are now returning, dedicating themselves to the development of the villages where they were born. Hidden deep in the Taihang Mountains, the once timeworn villages are starting to "bloom with youthful vitality."

In Fuping's Gujiatai village, young villagers have turned it into a "must-visit" trendy destination, with the creation of a peony garden, a children's playground, and water rafting. In the evenings, visitors can enjoy light show and musical fountains; while in winter, it is transformed into an ice-skating rink and ice waterfall.

Since 2016, 52 young and middle-aged adults have returned to their hometown in Luotuowan to start their own businesses. In just two years since 2021, Gujiatai has seen 38 people of the post-1990s and post-2000s generations return to start businesses, with these numbers continuing to increase.

In 2019, all 164 impoverished villages in Fuping county were successfully lifted out of absolute poverty, with 108,100 poverty-stricken individuals achieving sustained poverty alleviation. The per capita disposable income of rural residents has more than doubled, increasing from 3,262 yuan in 2012 to 14,500 yuan in 2023.

As the sunlight of poverty alleviation and rural revitalization shines upon the Taihang Mountains, the destinies of millions of farmers are changing, dreams are being realized, and the future is becoming brighter.