Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition
Pei (center) and the company's employees inspect the growth of tulips at the flower planting base.
In July 2021, after the heavy rainstorm in Henan, Pei Will (front row middle) immediately led the company's young employees to rush to the front line of flood relief.
Pei Jiang, born in 1992, went to Beijing at the age of 12 from Peizhai Village, Huixian City, Xinxiang City, Henan Province, to study in Beijing, and then went to the United States to study. After graduating from the University of Denver in 2015, he returned to Hui County to develop tourism and help farmers extend the industrial chain of specialty agricultural products.
Talking about his own way of returning to his hometown to start a business, Pei will say: "Hometown is my root, where the root is, where the heart is. ”
The new official took office with three fires
At the Baoquan Tourist Scenic Spot in Huixian City, Xinxiang City, Henan Province, many tourists are deeply attracted by the scene in front of them: from above, the river winds like a dragon, wandering between the lofty mountains. Some people once said that the Taihang Mountains left the most beautiful section to Henan, and the cliffs of the South Taihang Mountains and the waterfalls and springs not only let tourists linger, but when Pei first came here, he was also impressed by the endless blue waves between the mountains.
In 2016, Pei will be appointed as the general manager of Henan Baoquan Tourism Scenic Spot, where although the natural scenery is fascinating, the overall operation of the scenic spot has encountered bottlenecks. "The number of tourists received is not enough, in 2014 and 2015, the number of tourists received was about 600,000 or 700,000 people, from the perspective of investment, this result is not ideal." He said.
Pei will realize that if you want to increase the number of tourists, the first task is to expand the popularity of the scenic spot. He keenly observed the influence of the short video platform that had just emerged at that time on young consumers, resolutely innovated the form of promotion, cultivated Baoquan's own "net red" scenic spot recommenders, and publicized and promoted the characteristics of the scenic spot to the outside world. At the same time, he also introduced new projects such as ropeways and elevators in the mountain, with the aim of further improving the guest experience.
The new official took office with three fires, and Pei "burned" steadily. He invited Professor Yan Guotai's team from Shanghai Tongji Urban Planning and Design Institute to carry out high-standard planning for Baoquan Tourist Scenic Spot and make a fuss about enhancing the added value of tourism. He also hired experienced professionals from Beijing, Hunan and other places to carry out scientific operation of scenic spot management. Pei's efforts have been strongly rewarded - from 2017 to 2019, Baoquan Scenic Area received more than 2 million tourists for three consecutive years, and the originally unknown Baoquan Tourist Scenic Spot gradually became famous.
The fellow drummed up the money bag
Sweet potato is one of the main local food crops. At the beginning of his return to China, Pei Jiang once saw such a scene in Peizhai Village: the sweet potatoes that farmers had worked hard for a year to grow were rotten in the field and no one cared about, which made him both surprised and distressed. Sadly, he decided to use his professional advantages to help farmers tap the added value of sweet potatoes and launch diversified sweet potato products.
From chutney powder with sweet potatoes as the main ingredient to self-heating pots, Pei will make a lot of attempts. With the help of the e-commerce platform, he has further opened up online and offline product sales channels, making farmers' money bags bulge.
"We have directly led 406 poor households to get rid of poverty and become rich, and farmers have increased their income by more than 4,500 yuan per mu of sweet potatoes." Mr. Pei said he and his team also helped farmers grow flowers. The flower and vegetable planting base in Peizhai Village provides more than 800 jobs at the doorstep of the family, bringing more than 2 million yuan of income to the village collective every year.
On the one hand, sweet potatoes are sweet, and on the other hand, the flowers and herbs are fragrant, which have realized the effect of one product driving a base and a base driving a group of farmers, so that farmers have tasted the sweetness of "touching the net" to get rich.
With the significant increase in the number of tourists received by Baoquan Tourist Scenic Spot, the momentum of "one industry prosperous, hundred industry prosperity" began to appear. Some villagers have been given the opportunity to work in scenic spots, and some have started homestay and catering businesses.
"Why is it called 'Needle Village', just because it is poor and nothing is long, it grows that sour jujube needle." Originally, there was only one small noodle restaurant in the village, but now, relying on its proximity to the scenic spot, the village is very popular during the tourist season. There are more than 410 households engaged in tourism services, accounting for 95% of the total number of households in the village, and tourism operation income accounts for 84.5% of the total income of the village.
"More than 600 farmers in the villages around the scenic spot have eaten 'tourist meals', and we farmers can live a good life at the doorstep of our homes!" Pei will say proudly.
The sword blade came out of the grinding
For more than 5 years, Pei and his team have optimized and upgraded the Baoquan Tourist Scenic Spot from the aspects of management services, marketing, innovative products, landscape quality, etc., and have also built four seasons such as spring tulips, summer songkran festival, autumn fun cultural festival, and winter ice and snow festival into a brand.
In 2021, after experiencing the impact of the prevention and control of the new crown pneumonia epidemic on passenger flow, Baoquan Tourist Scenic Spot began to return to its former liveliness. However, last summer's heavy rains in Henan dealt Pei a blow – Xinxiang was badly affected, and Baoquan suffered huge losses because it was at the confluence of the two tributaries of the Pingdian and Xigou rivers in the upper reaches of the Yu River.
In the face of the facilities that were washed away in the scenic spot, watching most of his hard work in the past few years was destroyed, Pei would be heartbroken. After pondering for a long time, he made an important decision: "Leave the scenic spot alone, the personnel are safe and sound." Let's go to the outer township to save people! ”
Baoquan is a scenic spot, and rescue materials such as speedboats and life jackets are fully equipped. Pei will lead the company's young pioneer team to rush to the front line of flood control in HuiXian and Weihui at the first time and participate in emergency rescue.
Rushing to the disaster site in the early morning, soaking in the water is a full day of young rescue team members; walking in the waist-high water for four or five hours, finding rescuers and then turning back to the old branch secretary of the village to save people; using his own generator to generate electricity, the restaurant owner who brings hot food to the rescuers again and again... Pei said that the figures he saw in the days of disaster relief will be unforgettable for him.
After returning to the scenic spot, Pei will carry out post-disaster reconstruction work with the team, check for hidden dangers, emergency repairs, and some attractions are even damaged by heavy rain after reconstruction. After the team's unremitting efforts, last autumn, Baoquan Tourist Scenic Spot finally reopened its doors to customers.
"Most of our team is young and many are facing such a challenge for the first time. How to do the disaster prevention plan of the scenic spot? How to improve the disaster resistance of scenic spot equipment? ...... We all need to design a more complete plan. The sword blade came out of the grinding, and the plum blossom fragrance came from the bitter cold. Although growth is expensive, it may also be a lesson for entrepreneurs. Pei will say. (Reporter Sun Yahui)
People's Daily Overseas Edition ( 2022-01-19 Edition 10)