(Shanxi, 25th Report) In Dongkaizhang Village, Yongji, Yuncheng, Shanxi, within the Huichang Homespun Cultural Tourism Industrial Park, over ten “weaving ladies” are busy fulfilling orders. Shuttles are weaving back and forth among thousands of colored threads, accompanied by the creaking sound of looms as vibrant homespun cloth slowly takes shape.
Reporters recently visited Dongkaizhang Village in Yongji, Yuncheng, Shanxi, to experience the appearance of rural revitalization demonstrated through the integration of agriculture, culture, and tourism.
The Sushui River meanders through Dongkaizhang Village. More than 20 years ago, villagers faced difficulties with the saline-alkali land; they planted grain and cotton, but income was not high. After multiple external inspections and experiments, village officials began experimenting with Dongzao (jujube) cultivation, exploring a revenue-increasing model through greenhouse cultivation, and established a Dongzao specialty cooperative to guide villagers in building greenhouses and planting Dongzao.
Standing in a greenhouse, Dongkaizhang Village Committee Director Yu Yanping introduced, "One mu of land can produce 3,000 jin of Dongzao, bringing an income of about 90,000 RMB per mu."
Dongkaizhang Village-produced Dongzao is thin-skinned and large, gaining market recognition, and has developed into a planting area of over 6,000 mu, becoming the pillar industry for enriching residents and strengthening the village.
Yongji is a quality cotton production base in China, and the traditional Huichang homespun craft was selected for the fifth batch of national intangible cultural heritage representative projects in 2021.
In 2005, to help women and artisans in Dongkaizhang Village find “reemployment,” Yu Yanping sought out weaving artisans to inherit the skills of homespun production. They also acquired looms, spinning machines, and other equipment to establish a company. Utilizing traditional crafts, a year later, over 60 women in the village united to form a cooperative for the design and development of traditional rough homespun.
Today, these products are exported to domestic and international markets, with an annual output value exceeding 40 million RMB, directly creating jobs for more than 300 people. The “weaving ladies” have been able to create value in their later years and have earned respect and admiration.
Following the maturity of the Dongzao and homespun industries, Dongkaizhang Village began developing fresh fruit and vegetable industries. Since 2021, Dongkaizhang Village has transferred 500 mu of land and invested in the construction of 100 high-standard sunken warm sheds and solar greenhouses, activating the “hematopoietic” function of the village collective economy. Through public leasing, the village's collective investment in sunken warm sheds is leased externally for growing selenium-rich agricultural products like melons and tomatoes, increasing village collective income while providing about 200 jobs for nearby villagers.
"To achieve sustainable economic development and transform development paths, we have explored a development path centered on the integration of agriculture, culture, and tourism," Yu Yanping explained. The village organically integrates weaving culture, distinctive agricultural culture, and folk culture by inheriting intangible cultural heritage and developing research tourism; expanding the scale of green fruit cultivation and developing experiential tourism; discovering rural cultural resources and developing folk tourism; and improving infrastructure to develop leisure tourism.
Reporters recently visited Dongkaizhang Village in Yongji, Yuncheng, Shanxi, to experience the appearance of rural revitalization demonstrated through the integration of agriculture, culture, and tourism.
The Sushui River meanders through Dongkaizhang Village. More than 20 years ago, villagers faced difficulties with the saline-alkali land; they planted grain and cotton, but income was not high. After multiple external inspections and experiments, village officials began experimenting with Dongzao (jujube) cultivation, exploring a revenue-increasing model through greenhouse cultivation, and established a Dongzao specialty cooperative to guide villagers in building greenhouses and planting Dongzao.
Standing in a greenhouse, Dongkaizhang Village Committee Director Yu Yanping introduced, "One mu of land can produce 3,000 jin of Dongzao, bringing an income of about 90,000 RMB per mu."
Dongkaizhang Village-produced Dongzao is thin-skinned and large, gaining market recognition, and has developed into a planting area of over 6,000 mu, becoming the pillar industry for enriching residents and strengthening the village.
Yongji is a quality cotton production base in China, and the traditional Huichang homespun craft was selected for the fifth batch of national intangible cultural heritage representative projects in 2021.
In 2005, to help women and artisans in Dongkaizhang Village find “reemployment,” Yu Yanping sought out weaving artisans to inherit the skills of homespun production. They also acquired looms, spinning machines, and other equipment to establish a company. Utilizing traditional crafts, a year later, over 60 women in the village united to form a cooperative for the design and development of traditional rough homespun.
Today, these products are exported to domestic and international markets, with an annual output value exceeding 40 million RMB, directly creating jobs for more than 300 people. The “weaving ladies” have been able to create value in their later years and have earned respect and admiration.
Following the maturity of the Dongzao and homespun industries, Dongkaizhang Village began developing fresh fruit and vegetable industries. Since 2021, Dongkaizhang Village has transferred 500 mu of land and invested in the construction of 100 high-standard sunken warm sheds and solar greenhouses, activating the “hematopoietic” function of the village collective economy. Through public leasing, the village's collective investment in sunken warm sheds is leased externally for growing selenium-rich agricultural products like melons and tomatoes, increasing village collective income while providing about 200 jobs for nearby villagers.
"To achieve sustainable economic development and transform development paths, we have explored a development path centered on the integration of agriculture, culture, and tourism," Yu Yanping explained. The village organically integrates weaving culture, distinctive agricultural culture, and folk culture by inheriting intangible cultural heritage and developing research tourism; expanding the scale of green fruit cultivation and developing experiential tourism; discovering rural cultural resources and developing folk tourism; and improving infrastructure to develop leisure tourism.