Xiazhuang Village, Wushan County, Chongqing Goes Out of "Tiankeng" and Eats Ecological "Rice"
After 7 years, an 8km "sky road" was built to the outside of the village; citrus, watermelon and other industries were developed, and rural tourism was started. In 2019, the per capita disposable income reached about 12,600 yuan
At noon on December 3, it was cloudy in Wushan County, Chongqing, with snow particles floating in the sky, and the wind blowing made people feel chilly.
About 11 kilometers west of Zhuxian Township in Wushan County, the mountain road descends suddenly, and the village road seems to be hanging on the cliff, winding all the way to the foot of the mountain in the distance. Below is Xiazhuang Village.
Because there are thousands of meters of cliffs all around, the location of Xiazhuang Village is called "tiankeng".
According to the villagers, when the road was not built, it took 108 zigzags to go outside the village by taking the original sheep-gut trail from the edge to the bottom of the pit.
In January 1997, Mao Xianglin, then party branch secretary and village director of Xiazhuang Village, proposed to open the village’s road to the outside world, leading the villagers to finally complete an 8-km “sky road” after seven years.
The completion of the "Tian Road" completely changed the village's isolation, poverty and backwardness, and brought development opportunities to Xiazhuang.
Mao Xianglin told reporters that before the road was built in 1997, the per capita disposable income of Xiazhuang Village was only about 300 yuan.
In 2015, Xiazhuang became the first village in Wushan County to achieve the whole village out of poverty.
In 2019, the per capita disposable income of Xiazhuang Village has reached about 12,600 yuan.
On November 18, the Central Propaganda Department awarded Mao Xianglin the title of "Model of the Times".
"I have to cut out a way to pull out"
"Xiazhuang is like a well, deep and deep. I walked back and forth, dizzy and dizzy." This jingle is a true portrayal of Xiazhuang Village before.
There are 2 companies, 96 households, and a registered population of about 400 people.
Due to limited conditions, the people of Xiazhuang live a life of hard cultivation and poor harvest.
At that time, from the village to the township and county, it was an ancient road with "108 turns" behind the village.
It takes three or four days to go to the county seat from Xiazhuang.
Yang Shaojun, 30, walked the "road" for four to five years when he was in elementary school.
It takes him two hours to climb from the village to the top of the mountain.
Some places are cliffs, and ropes are needed to get up.
On this "road", he often encountered wild animals such as monkeys and goats.
If it rains, rocks will roll down.
According to media reports, due to the difficulty of going out, three adults in Xiazhuang have never visited the county seat 30 kilometers away.
Yuan Daxiang, who married to Xiazhuang at the age of 18, never returned to her family until his death at 94.
After the girl went out to work, she never wanted to come back.
"Chongqing Daily" reports show that due to road danger in Xiazhuang Village, 23 people fell off the cliff and died and 75 people were injured.
Mao Xianglin recalled that in June 1997, he started planning to open up the road connecting the village with the outside world.
He went to the dam to convene the villagers for a meeting and talked about his idea of building roads.
But at the time, the village cadres thought that "this thing could not be done", including the college student "village cadre" Fang Sicai who had been in the village for two years also said it was "unrealistic."
Fang Sicai said that building roads was something the ancestors of Xiazhuang Village wanted to do for generations, but they did not succeed.
Where do the money and three materials (detonators, explosives and fuse) for road construction come from?
These are the two major "obstacles" before them.
Mao Xianglin was determined to build the road.
He did ideological work for village cadres and villagers, telling the story of a person he had known in the county town who had crossed his feet together (a local act of carrying heavy objects on his back): his family was originally poor, but Xiu Tong The road has brought great changes to his home, a new brick house was built, and a refrigerator that he had never seen before.
"We can't be a poor man forever. No matter how difficult it is, I have to take the lead. This generation of people can't make a way out, and the next generation will continue to repair, and they have to find a way out."
After completing the work of the village cadres and villagers, Mao Xianglin began to ask people to test the way.
Fang Sicai said that by selling bacon and eggs, the villagers in Xiazhuang Village invested 10 yuan each, and finally raised 3960 yuan.
But "the money is only enough for road testing."
Mao Xianglin organized villagers to raise funds.
Everyone paid 50 yuan, and then raised about 20,000 yuan to buy explosives.
On the eighth day of the winter month of 1997 (November in the lunar calendar), "We made the first shot at Yuerxi."
At that time, in order to take the lead in investing in road construction, Mao Xianglin also used her sister's pension of more than 3,000 yuan to her mother to buy "three materials."
The Xiazhuang road construction operation was also supported by the relevant departments of Wushan County.
Mao Xianglin said that Zhu Chongxuan, then director of the Wushan County Agriculture Bureau, was moved by the determination of the people in Xiazhuang. He successively applied for a total of 230,000 yuan from the Agriculture Bureau to build roads.
The people in Xiazhuang built roads, chiseled little by little on the cliffs, put explosives one by one, and lived in caves if it was inconvenient to go home at night.
After more than a year of repairing, the private money hole can't be repaired.
Mao Xianglin introduced that because from here, explosives will be used all day long.
When the money was gone, he took his home real estate certificate as collateral and went to the bank for a loan of 40,000 yuan.
More serious problems followed.
26-year-old villager Shen Qingfu was hit by a falling rock under the cliff while building a road and died.
In less than two months, 36-year-old villager Huang Huiyuan fell off the cliff and died.
Mao Xianglin remembered clearly that that day was the National Day in 1999, "I can't bear it anymore, I don't want to repair it. I don't know how many people will die."
In front of Huang Huiyuan’s spirit, Mao Xianglin asked everyone, “Will this road be repaired?” Huang Huiyuan’s father Huang Yikun looked at the demoralized villagers and said, “I know that Huang Huiyuan is dead. He is my son. Does it hurt in my heart? It hurts. But he died for our children and grandchildren. He died well."
Fang Sicai, the commander-in-chief of road construction, was also at the scene. He recalled that the atmosphere at the scene was very solemn, and the sound of dropping a needle could be heard.
After Huang Yikun finished speaking, everyone raised their hands to the sky in unison, "Said Xiu in unison."
In this way, on April 12, 2004, after 7 years, an 8-km "sky road" connecting Xiazhuang Village with the outside world was opened.
Ask experts to investigate and determine the development of the citrus industry
The road was repaired, but the poverty problem still plagued the people in Xiazhuang.
"To get rich, I must mobilize these young people."
Mao Xianglin said.
He has mobilized nearly 100 young people to go out to work.
Before long, Mao Xianglin felt that it was unrealistic to get rid of poverty by part-time work alone, and he began to make a fuss on the village land.
In Xiazhuang, the "three big lumps" used to be grown in the ground-baogu, sweet potatoes, and yam, but these were not sold for much.
Villager Peng Rensong said that because of the inconvenience of transportation, before the crops were harvested, there was no way to sell them.
Those with greater strength can only carry a hundred kilograms, and those with less strength can only carry dozens of kilograms.
It takes more than half a day to go back to the village, and even more time to go to the county seat.
Mao Xianglin recalled that the first time he came back from the county with a bag of urea, it took three days to go back and forth.
He cried on the road.
In 2010, Mao Xianglin ate a watermelon in the county seat and found it particularly sweet.
Mao Xianglin's two sisters were both in the county seat, so he asked her sister to buy him a box of watermelon seeds, and tried to plant two plots by himself.
Unexpectedly, the watermelon planted has a good taste and high sweetness.
He distributed the watermelon to the villagers and sold it outside for 800 yuan.
Use this money in exchange for 300 Jin Baogu.
Mao Xianglin felt that he was making a profit, and when he came back, he held a mass meeting to promote watermelon planting. Other villagers saw him planting well, so they followed.
Soon, the fame of Xiazhuang Watermelon spread across Shili and Baxiang.
Driven by Mao Xianglin, Xiazhuang Village finally had its first decent property.
But watermelon only has one season and cannot be the main industry.
Mao Xianglin has planted sumac trees, raised goats, beef cattle, and sericulture, all of which failed.
Mao Xianglin thought about a bigger industry.
During an inspection in Quchi Township, Mao Xianglin found that his citrus plant was good, so he wanted to grow citrus in Xiazhuang.
Mao Xianglin invited experts from the Wushan County Agriculture Committee to study the altitude, climate, sunlight and soil quality of Xiazhuang, and finally determined that Xiazhuang belongs to the middle and low altitude area and is suitable for growing Newhall citrus.
Villager Liu Hengbao recalled that at the end of 2013, Mao Xianglin asked them to grow citrus.
In order to dispel everyone's concerns, Mao Xianglin promised at the mass meeting: "I will plant 10 mu of Newhall with my own family, and let Mao Lianjun (Mao Xianglin's son) go to Fengjie to learn technology at his own expense, and provide technical support for everyone free of charge!"
In the twelfth lunar month of that year, Mao Xianglin called on everyone to plant all the oranges.
In 2017, a professional citrus planting cooperative was established, door-to-door, persuaded the masses to join the cooperative, and taught villagers how to plant trees.
Wu Wenrui, the mayor of Zhuxian Township, introduced that Xiazhuang Village is a low- and medium-elevation area suitable for growing citrus.
Through two plantings in 2013 and 2017, a total of 650 acres of Newhall citrus were planted in the whole village of Xiazhuang.
In addition, there are 300 acres of watermelon and 500 acres of pumpkins through multiple cropping.
Later, another 150 mu of Taoyuan was opened.
Rely on unique landforms to develop ecotourism
In early December, the citrus picking season is entering.
Orange-yellow oranges dot the citrus groves in the mountains.
Mao Xianglin said that the sales of citrus in Xiazhuang Village in 2019 brought more than 400,000 yuan in income, and this year is expected to have more than 500,000 yuan.
The family of villager Peng Rensong planted more than 300 citrus trees.
He calculated an account for the Beijing News reporter. A tree generally produces 30 kilograms of citrus, and if it has a high yield, it will be 80-100 kilograms. The price in 2019 is 2.5 yuan a kilogram.
If all his oranges are sold, he can earn tens of thousands of yuan.
In addition to citrus, his family also grows watermelons. Last year, they sold watermelons for more than 8,000 yuan.
In addition, the little workers who build houses in the village also have an income of more than 10,000 yuan.
Villager Yang Shaojun has a carving technique-carving various patterns on olive pits.
The olive stone bracelets he carved have been exported to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Excluding the cost of buying olive pits, you can earn more than 100,000 yuan a year.
A few days ago, Yang Shaojun had just married a wife from a neighboring town.
Xiazhuang’s “wall road” and Xiazhuang’s unique karst landforms have attracted many self-driving tourists in the past two years.
The first homestay in the village capable of receiving tourists was a horseshoe-shaped three-story building jointly built by Yang Yuanding, Yuan Tangqing, and Yang Hengshuang, named "Sanheyuan".
Yang Hengshuang introduced that he had worked in Guangdong and Chongqing for a few years before, and it was Mao Xianglin who asked him to come back and build this building together with Yang Yuanding and Yuan Tangqing to open a bed and breakfast.
Yang Hengshuang said that the three of them started to build this building in 2017, and the total cost of building and decorating the building was more than 1 million yuan.
In addition to the money he saved, he asked relatives and friends to borrow some money. His family also borrowed three to fifty thousand yuan from the bank.
After the normal business in the second half of 2020, tourists will come to stay every day, and it is expected to earn about 150,000 yuan by the end of the year.
Around the "Sanhe Yard", there are scattered or newly built buildings or newly renovated adobe houses.
In addition to the hardened road, the small road connecting the villagers is also being paved with slabs.
The original sewage ditches are also laying white sewage pipes. This is a sewage treatment project that has just started construction two months ago.
Mao Xianglin hopes to lead the whole village's human and animal waste to the orchard.
This will not only irrigate fruit trees, but also prevent river water from being polluted.
This was not the case three or four years ago.
In October 2016, Chen Tianyan, the assistant village director who came to Xiazhuang village after graduating from university, recalled that when she first came, Xiazhuang was still dominated by adobe houses, and the village had no more than 10 brick houses.
When she first arrived in Xiazhuang, the road hardened to halfway up the mountain. They had to drive the car halfway up the mountain first, take the construction vehicle to the bottom of the valley, and then take the motorcycle to the village.
In Mao Xianglin's view, Xiazhuang Village has got rid of poverty and is striving for a well-off society.
"Ordinary people can spend 50,000 yuan, better ones can spend more than ten to two hundred thousand yuan, this kind of family is quite a lot." He hopes that with the support of the government's good policies, the house in Xiazhuang can be built. The environment outside the house is improved, allowing visitors to eat the green and ecological local products in Xiazhuang and enjoy the environment here.
Work out the development idea of "1+2" plus "N"
Nowadays, Xia Zhuang is connected by roads and his pockets are bulging, but Mao Xianglin can't get down.
He was wondering how to let young people outside the village return to their hometown and revitalize the village.
The "post-90s" Mao Zedong used to grow watermelons and sell them.
When he returned home for the Spring Festival in 2020, Mao Xianglin came to visit him, "Company commander, stay in the village, Xiazhuang Village needs you young people."
Looking at Mao Xianglin in front of him, Chairman Mao remembered the scene of building the "Tian Road" back then.
Seeing the prosperity of Xiazhuang's industry, he became tempted and chose to stay. He also persuaded his girlfriend to come back too, preparing to develop a homestay and engage in live broadcast of goods.
Chen Tianyan introduced that in recent years, more and more villagers like Yang Hengshuang and Mao Company have returned home.
Mao Xianglin, now 62, said that when the village committee is replaced in 2021, he will retreat and let young people do it. When they encounter problems that cannot be solved, he will help them solve them and serve them as "military officers." .
However, Mao Xianglin also made a plan for Xiazhuang.
He hopes to show the spirit of Xiazhuang through the Xiazhuang Personnel Deeds Exhibition Hall and attract more grassroots cadres from outside to visit and train, so as to promote the development of Xiazhuang's homestay industry.
The Houxi River Valley in Xiazhuang Village can open up some places for camping and picnics.
The Houxi River Valley is a valley less than 10 meters wide, with clear river water, curtains of dripping water on the mossy stone walls, lush vegetation, and steep and towering cliffs.
Chen Tianyan said that in summer it is a natural summer valley.
Wu Wenrui, the mayor of Zhuxian Township, introduced that their development strategy for Xiazhuang Village was to add "N" to "1+2".
"1" means rural tourism, and more development paths have been extended around rural tourism.
Today, Mao Xianglin has become a model of the times. They strive to build Xiazhuang into a cadre education and training base in Chongqing, allowing people from outside to come in and learn the spirit of Xiazhuang.
"2" is citrus and walnut.
"N" refers to Xiazhuang's characteristic industries such as watermelon, peaches, crisp plums and noodles.
Soon, a fast track connecting Pinghe Township and Zhuxian Township will also be completed. This road will pass one or two kilometers downstream from Xiazhuang Village.
Wu Wenrui said that in the future, large, medium and small buses will be able to go up to Xiazhuang via the Houxi River valley on this road, and the time will be shorter and safer.
Wu Wenrui said that in their concept, they would also rebuild the small intestine path used by the people in Xiazhuang, so that tourists can feel the inconvenience of the people in Xiazhuang.
At the same time, some trails and pavilions were built in the citrus fields for picking and viewing the scenery.
Even the cliffs everywhere in Xiazhuang can be built into climbing sites.
Beijing News reporter Xiao Longping and intern Jiang Jiachen
A06-A07 edition photography/Beijing News reporter Xiao Longping