[Well-off China] A dish of kimchi drives a tens of billions of industries: the "code" in the jar of Sichuan "Kimchi Village"

　　[Explanation] Meishan City, Sichuan Province is not only the hometown of Su Dongpo, a great writer in the Northern Song Dynasty, but also the "Hometown of Chinese Kimchi" with more than 2000 years of kimchi making history. Meishan kimchi not only promotes the local economic development, but also helps nearly 200,000 farmers to become rich and prosper. In 2019 alone, the sales revenue of pickles in Meishan City reached 20.08 billion yuan.

　　[Explanation] In the 1980s, Meishan kimchi moved from private production to factory production. A number of kimchi companies developed rapidly, and the raw material gap became larger. The first "crab-eating" in Dadingqiao Village, which discovered the opportunity, soon became a well-known "Kimchi Village".

　　[Explanation] In late July, 3420 acres of arable land in Dadingqiao Village has been planted with rice. Although September to March of the following year is the time to grow raw materials such as radishes and green vegetables, Dadingqiao Village maximizes the economic benefits of the land here through the "rice and vegetable rotation" method. Dadingqiao Village Party Branch Secretary He Xiaoying’s father was the first villager in Dadingqiao Village to grow kimchi raw materials. In 1990, he began to lead the villagers to do the big kimchi raw material planting industry together.

　　[Concurrent] He Xiaoying, Secretary of the Party Branch of Dadingqiao Village

　　We have grown raw materials (kimchi) in Dadingqiao Village for 30 years. In the past, we have grown from wheat and rice to rapeseed, and now every household has grown kimchi (raw material), providing raw materials for kimchi companies. If we develop "rice and vegetable rotation" now, if we grow one season of kimchi (raw material), it will be the people's (previously) income for a year. Because we have signed the order now, the company has a protective price for our people, and the price for an acre of land is 700 yuan a ton.

　　[Explanation] Nowadays, Dadingqiao Village provides a total of about 5,000 tons of vegetables for many enterprises every year, which can generate income of nearly 3.5 million yuan. Relying on the kimchi industry, the per capita income of villagers in Dadingqiao Village reached 23,000 yuan in 2019. In addition to kimchi, the changes in Dadingqiao Village are also inseparable from the increasing number of returning home swallows. In 2013, He Xiaoying, who had worked in Guangzhou for 13 years, returned to the village and contracted 120 acres of land to grow kimchi raw materials and strawberries, and also led the villagers to develop through the creation of an e-commerce platform "touch the net".

　　[Concurrent] He Xiaoying, Secretary of the Party Branch of Dadingqiao Village

　　(At the time) I heard my father tell me. My father said that now Meishan has established China Kimchi City. Now this kimchi company is located in our Dongpo District. It is also a good opportunity for our Dadingqiao Village. I hope You still go home to develop and develop our Dadingqiao Village better. I think I should go back to my hometown to do my best, so I took the little money I earned from working in Guangzhou to my hometown for development.

　　[Explanation] In a greenhouse in Dadingqiao Village, Chaotian Pepper is growing towards the sky. After the crops in the shed mature, they will not only be used as raw materials to be transported to kimchi companies, but also used for agricultural education for young people.

　　[Concurrent] Jiang Mengying, general manager of Meishan Dadangjia Vegetable Cooperative

　　This cooperative was established in 2015. Our kimchi raw materials are mainly sold to kimchi companies, which is equivalent to forming a cohesive relationship between us and farmers. We have now contracted 750 acres of land, which can provide about 3,000 tons of raw materials for kimchi companies every year. As Meishan people, we have always grown from snacks to pickles in Meishan, so we have a deep feeling of homeland for kimchi. The plan of our cooperative this year is to expand 500 acres of land on the original basis to grow kimchi raw materials.

　　[Explanation] In addition to growing kimchi raw materials on their own land, working in the surrounding kimchi companies and cooperatives has become a choice for many villagers to increase their income. After working in Xinjiang for 8 years, Chen Qiang, a villager who returned to the village in 2019, worked in a nearby kimchi company with a monthly salary of nearly 4,000 yuan.

　　[Concurrent] Chen Qiang, a villager in Dadingqiao Village

　　In my mind, I still feel that kimchi is inseparable, and I also have kimchi. (This job) is not hard, and the family can take care of the old and the young. The changes in our village are quite big. When we grow radishes and green vegetables and supply them to the kimchi garden, everyone's income is relatively high.

　　[Explanation] The sun is scorching in July, and this year's kimchi raw material planting season is coming. A small plate of kimchi will go from here to the tables of people in more than 100 countries and regions.

　　Chen Xuanbin reports from Chengdu

Editor in charge: [Li Yuxin]