(Grassroots in the New Year) "Gourd Village" in Changzhi, Shanxi: Rural Tourism "Treasure Gourd" Promotes Revitalization
Chinanews.com, Changzhi, February 5th, title: "Gourd Village" in Changzhi, Shanxi: Rural Tourism "Treasure Gourd" Promotes Revitalization
Chinanews reporter Li Tingyao
Shiquan Village, Fengyi Town, Tunliu District, Changzhi City, Shanxi Province is known as the "Gourd Village" because of the cultivation of gourds.
Around the small gourd, this ordinary village located in the old Taihang District started rural tourism.
During the Spring Festival, activities such as Shangdang Gushu, Gonggu Yangko, and Lantern Festival attract nearly 10,000 tourists every day.
Shiquan Village got its name from Shiquan Reservoir.
In 2015, Peng Liangen, the leader of returning to his hometown to become rich, responded to Fengyi Town's call for investment promotion and took a fancy to this water area.
When looking at the map, he felt that Shiquan Reservoir looked like a gourd, so he wanted to make this meaning into reality.
Peng Liangen invited agricultural planting experts to conduct on-the-spot investigations. After evaluating a number of indicators, it was found that Shiquan Village is suitable for growing gourds.
The bonfire attracts tourists to watch.
Photo by Li Hongwei
Later, Peng Liangen transferred more than 1,000 mu of land to build a gourd planting base and a gourd farm.
Shiquan Village, which has grown corn for generations, has grown gourds for the first time.
"Without any processing, gourds can achieve an output value of 15,000 yuan per mu. In 2017, the 120 mu of gourds we planted achieved an output value of more than 1.8 million yuan." Peng Liangen introduced that the added value of gourds will increase after being processed by craftsmen. 10 times to 20 times.
Various folk customs are staged in turn.
Photo by Li Hongwei
From food gourds to artistic gourds, Shiquan Village continues to extend the gourd industry chain.
In 2017, influenced by his father, Peng Liangen's son, Peng Dongli, also returned to Shiquan Village after graduating from university and became a "Xinongren".
Peng Dongli told reporters that during the 2018 Spring Festival, Shiquan Village held a gourd lantern show, attracting 130,000 visitors, and the number of people watching the lantern show during the 2019 Spring Festival reached 150,000.
From gourd planting and processing to rural tourism, the annual output value of the gourd industry in Shiquan Village reaches tens of millions of yuan.
The gourd farm has driven more than 300 people to find employment and increase their income. Even villagers who are not directly involved in gourd planting can enjoy the benefits.
Qi Jianye, a villager in Shiquan Village, earns more than 100,000 yuan a year by selling millet and gourd handicrafts in the village, and working part-time at the gourd farm.
Shiquan Village is full of tourists.
Photo by Li Hongwei
Xi Xuhong, Secretary of the Party Branch of Shiquan Village, told reporters that the village has 252 households with 779 people, and the gourd industry has become the main driving force for villagers to increase their income, and it will also drive the development of homestays in the village.
"At the beginning of 2022, we built a snow playground. Two months before the Spring Festival this year, we began to plan a walking immersion lantern show with the theme of gourd culture." Peng Dongli told reporters that during the day, the entire scenic spot is very lively, with laughter and laughter on the snow playground , Various folk customs are staged in turn; as night falls, lanterns bloom, gourd lanterns, and lights of various colors attract tourists to stop.
According to Peng Dongli, in the next step, the gourd farm in Shiquan Village will combine agricultural development with culture and art, pastoral scenery with urban civilization, and enterprise-led production with farmers' production to achieve strong agriculture, beautiful countryside and rich farmers.
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