Green development revitalizes rural village in Hangzhou

Celebrating the 40th anniversary o China's reform and opening up, a series of TV programs featuring the social development of the country over the past four decades were released on the CCTV news channel on Dec 17, in which Xiajiang village in East China's Zhejiang province was featured showing its rural revitalization through green development.

Located in Chun'an county of Hangzhou, Xiajiang village used to be a remote agricultural backwater with an underdeveloped infrastructure, but thanks to its improved ecological agriculture and booming homestay industry, the riverside village has moved out of poverty and emerged as a hot tourist destination in Zhejiang.

From 2003 to 2007, the Chinese government proposed to develop ecological agriculture while protecting the local environment. With the efforts of 40 locals, 97 percent of the land was covered with vegetation.

With the region's improved environment and infrastructure, the homestay industry is also thriving which attracts urbanites who drive here at the weekend to explore the province's rural areas. In 2017, there were 23 homestays with over 400 beds in the village.

In 2018, nearly 40,000 tourists visited the riverside village and the per capita income of local villagers exceeded the average level of the province.

Now, with the new opportunities and cleaner environment on offer, the village is attracting an increasing number of former migrants to return.