Province a hit with international reporters

Group of nearly 20 senior-level scribes pledges to report on trips to Changsha, Ningxiang and Liuyang cities

Nineteen senior reporters and editors from 18 countries visited the countryside in Hunan province in late May. They said China's rural areas have greatly changed and pledged to report on the countryside's development experience.

Hunan's countryside is beautiful and livable. The reporters were impressed by sites including a village and a tea garden in Changsha county, an ancient town in Ningxiang city and a fireworks factory in Liuyang city during the three-day trip.

They learned about rural revitalization in Xifu village in Changsha county. A few years ago, the village adopted a cooperation mode of "the villagers' committee plus farmer households" to develop homestays.

The village is currently home to 21 homestay houses and several supporting facilities like children's entertainment facilities, a hot air balloon park and a bar. Household sewage is also treated in the village.

Previously, more than 100 villagers worked outside the area, but many of them have returned to the village to make a living. Foreign reporters said life in the village is different from their original impression about China's rural areas. Walking on an asphalt road and having a drink at a bar are among everyday occurrences.

Luvsandorj Batbayar, editor-in-chief of Mongolia's Montsame News Agency, said: "I thought the Chinese countryside had rough roads and the transportation was inconvenient and now I find it is not true."

The rural areas in Hunan are beautiful and developed rapidly, Batbayar said. "Farmers' production and living are very modern."

In the farming culture park in Ningxiang city, the media group saw grassland and a babbling brook. Natalia Amaglobeli, editor-in-chief of Agenda.ge in Georgia, said she was interested in what she saw, such as children's games including shuttlecock kicking, unicycle riding and iron hoop rolling.

She said she was surprised to find successful rural revitalization in Hunan and that rural areas had become richer. The villages she had visited were as livable as cities and farmers could enjoy modern life while being close to nature.

Youzhuo Dairy in Ningxiang has built modern farms in villages, which created jobs and enriched farmers. It is an epitome in Hunan of how industries drive rural revitalization.

When they visited the tea garden in Changsha county, Eric Anthony Mkuti, editor of Tanzania's Standard Newspapers, drank a cup of green tea. He said it tasted good and if it is sold in his country, it will sell well.

Mkuti said the countryside in Hunan is rich and beautiful. Local people must have a strong feeling of happiness, he added.

Azizov Dashqin Mehdi Oglu, a reporter from Azerbaijan, bought two bags of tea. "I particularly like drinking tea," he said. He added he would share what he saw and felt in Hunan with friends in Azerbaijan.

Li Yao contributed to the story

songmengxing@chinadaily.com.cn