Industrial Town Survey 丨 Interview Notes: A small town's enlightenment to the "revitalization of the northeast"

Xinhua News Agency, Shenyang, 20 January Title: Interview Notes: A Small Town's Enlightenment for the "Revitalization of Northeast China."

Xinhua News Agency reporters Wang Bingkun and Wu Jiangmin

On September 10, 2021, at the 2021 China (Dalian) International Garment and Textile Expo, Xiaobeihe Town from Liaoyang City, Liaoning Province, was awarded the title of "China Famous Town of Socks Industry" by the China Textile Industry Federation and the China Knitting Industry Association. Xinhua News Agency

At the end of the year, the reporter drove to Xiaobeihe Town, Liaoyang City, Liaoning Province, to report, along the way quiet villages, low houses, empty brown rice fields and the sky, revealing a typical "cat winter" scene in the sky.

Entering Xiaobeihe Town, the reporter saw a different scene: the signs of various sock factories and the billboards of various socks were lined up along the streets, the streets were bustling with traffic and people, supermarkets, restaurants, and hotels were one after another, and they were as lively as small counties.

Locals say that Xiaobeihe Town is located in the flood area of the Hunhe River and the Taizi River, and has been flooded for ten years since ancient times. Who would have thought that in this land of famine where it is difficult to fight for grain, a new industry would be developed in another way.

In fact, in this small town located in the northeast region, the "counterattack" of the Xiaobei River, which is not well-resourced, has given a lot of enlightenment to the big topic of "northeast revitalization".

The older generation of Xiaobeihe people are poor and think of changes, and the flood area does not rely on grain, but forces them to no longer "plan food in the soil", but grope to combine textile raw materials with manual labor, and "squat" a sock road.

The development of counties and townships depends on industry, and industrial development depends on characteristics. Xiaobeihe people do not fight with big cities to be "tall", nor are they "big and complete" with resource-based industries, and they have found a suitable way for themselves by discovering the advantages of rich labor force and low family production costs in villages and towns.

Of course, with the "fresh move" of the characteristic industry, it cannot be "eaten all over the sky". Under the double attack of China's socks industry "Zhejiang Zhuji in the south and Jilin Liaoyuan in the north", the reason why Xiaobeihe stands firm and is full of resilience is inseparable from the step-by-step advancement in transformation and upgrading.

Engaged in the socks industry for more than 30 years, with the current social material wealth is greatly enriched, the traditional production capacity is increasingly excessive, Xiaobeihe people are soberly aware that now they want to solve is not the problem of "whether there is or not", but the confusion of "good or bad".

Transform the production mode, from a single household to a cluster development; upgrade the service mode, from the enterprise isolated to the government's precise support; open up sales channels, from "going out" to "bringing in", and then go abroad to open up overseas markets; innovative product categories, continuously launch five-finger socks, tide socks, crystal socks and other new products to seize the market... In order to make a special pair of socks, Xiaobeihe people have always been very hard.

Walking in the streets of the town, the richness and self-confidence of the residents are written on their faces, and it is not difficult for reporters to see young faces. Zhang Zhongchen, secretary of the town party committee, said that "industrial rejuvenation" brought "pocket drums," and last year the per capita income of the town's residents exceeded 30,000 yuan, which was much higher than that of the surrounding townships; "pocket drums" brought about "population gathering." Compared with the increasing "hollowing out" of some villages, many outsiders flowed into xiaobeihe, and the permanent population of the whole town was more than 2,000 people more than the household registration population.

The direction is right, and I have worked hard enough to achieve the "small and beautiful" of Xiaobeihe Town. Today, when "one county, one industry, one township and one product" is recognized by more and more people, I hope that more cities and towns will aim at "characteristics" and "professionalism" to practice internal skills and walk steadily on the road of development.