New development blueprint uplifts Taiwan entrepreneurs on mainland

RURAL OPPORTUNITIES

In a village in Fujian, Huang Deyu, a rural design architect, brought the red bricks from dismantled houses back to life by building them into garden fences. He also made discarded oyster shells tossed aside by fishermen into a gate.

With his 25 years of rural renovation experience in Taiwan, Huang landed on the mainland in 2015, and has launched more than 30 projects in the coastal province so far.

"As the mainland embraces green development, our design concept of 'reduce, reuse and recycle' represents the future," Huang said.

Architects across the Strait have been working together on rural renovation projects on many occasions using their respective expertise, epitomizing cross-Strait integrated development, said landscape planner Peichin Lee, who spent seven years transforming an almost deserted village in Xiamen into a tourist hot spot.

"Talent from Taiwan can feel a sense of pride and fulfillment on the mainland," said Lee, who came from Taiwan to Xiamen for new growth opportunities in 2014.

More than 200 rural design architects from Taiwan are involved in the rural community revitalization of 117 villages in Fujian, developing a number of rural community models, according to Lin Ruiliang, head of the Fujian provincial housing and urban-rural development department.

High-quality agriculture is vital to China's rural vitalization strategy, a catchphrase in the proposals for the new five-year plan, offering huge opportunities for enterprises from Taiwan as they have created competitive advantages with decades of experience, said Huang Yi-cheng, a fish farming magnate from Taiwan.

"We are glad to introduce our experience and technologies to the mainland and produce more quality products for the vast market," he added.