How is life like in China? Look at the experiences of these three "crooked fruit men"

Source: People's Daily International

"Green water and green mountains are golden mountains and silver mountains." In the process of building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way in China, some international people working and living in China have felt that China's rural environment is more pleasant and the peasants' lives are more prosperous, witnessing the continuous improvement of China's ecological environment and the remarkable achievements in the construction of ecological civilization. Today we will follow three foreign friends to see together.

Martin, French agricultural engineer: This is the place where I can enjoy my ideal life

Kunming, Yunnan, Songyang Town, Songming County, Longyuan Village. Walking into Martin's berry base, the first impression is that the environment is good and there are many birds. Although there is still some chill outside, martin's blueberry nursery greenhouse is already full of spring. The blueberries planted on demonstration in the greenhouses have become a delicacy for surrounding birds to come and taste.

16 years ago, French agricultural engineer Martin Dabilly came to Yunnan, China. Since then, his life and career have been unfolding here. From the initial planting of raspberries to the current focus on blueberry seedlings, Martin said: "What attracts me is the good climate and the good ecology. This is the place where I enjoy my ideal life. ”

"Good climate attracted me to Yunnan"

In 2006, Martin came to China on a business trip. During his inspection, he found that raspberries common in the European market are rare in the Chinese market.

"Raspberries are rich in vitamins and have high nutritional value. Can raspberries be introduced to the Chinese market? Martin set out to look for a suitable place for raspberry cultivation. Once passing through Songming, I found that the climate is suitable, the ecological environment is good, and the terrain is flat, and the transportation is convenient because of its proximity to Kunming Airport - Martin decided to install the raspberry planting base in Longyuan Village, which is more than 10 kilometers away from the county seat of Songming.

"The good climate attracted me to Yunnan." Martin recalls. Raspberries have high requirements for the growing environment, requiring sufficient sunlight, suitable temperature, in addition, because cleaning will wash away the fruit powder with high nutritional value on the raspberry peel, so fresh raspberries are best to achieve no washing, which also has a hard requirement for the air quality of its growth. Longyuan Village meets these requirements, not only has good environmental conditions, but also attaches great importance to green and sustainable development.

"Can foreigners come to China to cultivate land?" At first, the surrounding villagers were curious and suspicious of this "foreign farmer" who had come from afar and could only speak a few simple Words in Chinese. The first thing Martin did was plant trees. The base greenhouse needs to plant trees to protect against wind, in addition to the fast-growing eucalyptus tree, he also planted walnut trees, osmanthus trees, cherry blossom trees... The diverse tree species provide abundant food for the surrounding insects and birds, making the base a healthy ecosystem.

Since then, raspberry saplings have been planted. Martin did not adopt the planting mode of "big water and big fertilizer", but chose precision irrigation. This not only improves the utilization of water resources, but also maximizes the protection of farmland soil. The saplings grew stronger, and Martin's base greenhouse became more and more popular, and the villagers often came to him to exchange "tree planting scriptures".

"This approach is in line with the green development concept that has been promoted locally." Huang Jianwei, deputy director of the Songyang Street Office in Songming County, introduced that in the past, local farmers built ordinary greenhouses, and extensive planting methods made many fertilizers and pesticides remain in the soil, which not only caused damage to the environment, but also had unsatisfactory economic benefits. In order to change this situation, the government has provided a variety of policies and financial support to help villagers change their production methods. Slowly, more and more greenhouses were replaced with degrading films, and the soil used organic fertilizer.

"Growing berries is not only a job, it's a career"

During the prevention and control of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the export of raspberries was affected by some, and after analyzing the market, Martin adjusted the production direction of the base in time and switched to blueberry seedlings.

Walking through the contiguous blueberry nursery, Martin squatted down from time to time to check the growth of the seedlings. "Our blueberry seedlings are mainly aimed at the winter market." Martin pointed to the map of Yunnan on the wall and circled the green of southern Yunnan with his hand, "These places have our potential customers." ”

Data from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Yunnan Province shows that in recent years, Yunnan has become the core production area for domestic berry cultivation. In 2020, the blueberry planting area in Yunnan Province was 101,200 mu, accounting for 9.5% of the country's blueberry planting area, and the output reached 35,000 tons, accounting for 17.5% of the country.

Since its establishment, Martin's Yunnan Meiming Agricultural Co., Ltd. has seen its performance rise year by year. Last year, he applied for patent protection for six varieties of blueberry seedlings, such as Malibu 122, which attracted many large merchants to cooperate with him, and now the planting area of the partners has exceeded 6,000 mu. "Growing berries is not only a job, it's a career."

"Good berries not only rely on good climatic conditions, but also on scientific management." During the planting process, Martin is very concerned about environmental protection and safety issues. Fearing that the pesticide would hurt pollinating bumblebees or leave residues, he tested all the purchased pesticides one by one before using them. Every quarter, Songyang Street will also conduct inspections of cold storage and pesticide and seed stores in the jurisdiction to ensure that farmers can buy safe agricultural materials. In addition, the local government continues to promote the treatment of the water environment, and rice fields have been successively planted on both sides of the river to improve water quality through natural purification. The government also conducts regular testing of soil and irrigation water for farmland to ensure that soil and water quality are safe and up to standard.

"I am very happy to be a witness to the transformation of the village"

Walking in Longyuan Village, when the villagers who came and went saw Martin, they all greeted him kindly, "Boss Ma! ”

The more than 30 workers working at martin's berry base are nearby villagers, and everyone saw that the base was built in a similar way, so they came to apply. In order to let the villagers from vegetable farmers get started as soon as possible, Martin will gather everyone together from time to time to explain on the spot. Soon, the villagers will not only be able to identify the ripeness of the fruit, but also quickly complete the work of picking and packaging. "They're all half berry picking experts now." Martin said happily.

In the past ten years, driven by the local party committee and government, Longyuan Village has excavated and built characteristic industries while developing the planting industry, striving to achieve "one village and one product", strengthening support for potential enterprises and products, and driving local economic development.

The industry has developed, and everyone's life is getting better and better. "In the past, many families in the village lived in earthen houses, and villagers walked to work. Now most people have built small buildings and driven cars. I am very happy to be a witness to the transformation of the village. Martin said.

Outside of work, Martin loves to ride a bike. The village is surrounded by a large natural mountain forest, and every week he will meet friends to ride together, and he loves the mountains, the trees, the greenery, and the vitality of the place. His wife and 3 children usually live in Kunming, and they also like to come to the berry base on weekends, and the children like to pick fruits and play with mud.

Before the interview, Martin picked a few blueberries for the reporter to taste, and the sweet fruit aroma bloomed on the tip of the tongue with a slight sour taste. "A little sour, right?" Don't worry, they'll be sweeter after a while! (Reporter: Yang Wenming)

Nick, a retired Luxembourg policeman: In just four years, the appearance of Zhadong Village has changed dramatically, which is a miracle

At the foot of the green mountain, the grass of Zhadong Village is in pieces, and the green waves are rolling. Big Nick bent down, clutching the grass in his left hand and scythe in his right hand, and swept it into his arms, skillfully harvesting it.

Nick, 63, is a retired police officer in Luxembourg. He has traveled the world and came to Hechi city on a trip to Guangxi, China, for the movie "Liu Sanjie". Nick loves the green mountains and waters, lush forests and bamboo, and has now settled here for 11 years. In Hechi, Nick's deepest affection is Zhadong Village, Liu Sanjie Town, Yizhou District, where he has participated in the poverty alleviation work of the village for three consecutive years since 2018 as a volunteer and witnessed the changes here. Now, he still returns to Zhadong Village from time to time to see, exchanges feelings with his fellow villagers, helps to build a handle to do a job, and is full of feelings for every family, grass and tree in the village.

"In the past, there was no road in Zhadong Village, the villagers lived in poverty, the houses were built of adobe bricks, the houses were very empty, and there was very little furniture." Nick recalls. Zhadong Village was once an autonomous region-level poor village, and in 2014, the incidence of poverty in the village was as high as 51%. As a poverty alleviation volunteer, Nick witnessed the joint efforts of Zhadong Village to step out of poverty with the joint efforts of party members and cadres and local people. He also worked with everyone to build roads, build orchards, plant seedlings, and help the village buy lawn mowers and drills.

Walking in the village of Zhadong, passing by the leafy yellow bark, plantains, and tianzhu gui, a well-grown sugarcane field appeared in front of you. Nick said: "The ecological environment of Zhadong Village is good, which is very suitable for the growth of crops, which is a gift from nature. ”

Under the leadership of the village party branch, Zhadong Village has vigorously developed green industries, cultivated a group of leaders to get rich, and explored a new way of development of "village collective economy + enterprise + poverty alleviation households". La Fantun leased more than 300 acres of pasture fields and introduced farms. The people in the tun can not only have rental income, but also can work in the nearby farm, and the income is more diversified. The pasture itself can be used as a raw material for raising cattle, cow dung can be returned to the field, and the planting cycle promotes the continuous growth of the village collective economy.

The weather was slightly cool, but Nick's interest was high. Every time you go to a place, there are always gratifying discoveries: when the farm was first built, Nick helped dig the foundation and set up a shed, and now the Qinmu School where he works has a monthly income of more than 5,000 yuan; when the old Han Moziji of Shangdongtun built a house, Nick helped pull cement and bricks, and now the 80-square-meter brick and tile house of the Moziji family is bright; the children play on the newly built basketball court in the village, which is the result of the financial support of the village cadres and Nick in contacting the Yizhou District Culture, Guangzhou, Sports, Tourism Bureau and other units...

Nick has an English version of "Xi Jinping on Governing the Country", which he has read many times over and over again, and is deeply impressed by the "production and living environment of sky blue, green earth and clear water for future generations" mentioned in the book. "It is vital to avoid environmental damage while developing, and China's efforts in the construction of ecological civilization are remarkable." Nick said.

Nowadays, the Tuntun Road in Zhadong Village, households are connected to electricity, water and networks, and the villagers' wallets have become bulging after the mountain goods have come out of the mountains, and many families have built new houses. "They created a new life with their hands." Nick sighed: "In just four years, the appearance of Zhadong Village has changed dramatically, which is really a miracle! The practice of the Communist Party of China in leading the Chinese people out of poverty and living a well-off life is admirable. ”

Talking about the future development of Zhadong Village, Nick said that he hopes more skilled young people to return to the countryside and participate in rural construction. He will also continue to work hard for the development of Zhadong Village: "When I see that the villagers' lives are getting better and better, and smiles appear on their faces, it is like the sun shining into my heart. (Reporter: Zhang Yunhe)

Choi Seung-ha, a South Korean entrepreneur: Let's live a better life together

"Old Cui, why are you so busy?" Li Zhiyang, deputy director of the Economic Development Office of Shangshu Township, Anji County, Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province, asked when he visited the enterprise.

"Get ready to do it this year!" Cui Chengxia looked around the busy workshop and responded with a smile.

Just after the Spring Festival, Cui Chengxia began to be busy. Not long ago, he just negotiated a lease to expand the plant area to 6,000 square meters. In the past few days, he has begun to work on recruitment again, planning to increase the staff from 40 to 60 people.

Originally from South Korea, Choi Currently runs a wood products manufacturer in Shangshu Township, and all of its products are exported to South Korea and Japan. This year is the 9th year that he has come to Anji to start a business and live. The COVID-19 pandemic has spread around the world, and his business operations have also been affected. Lao Cui decided to use this time to study how to make product quality better and more environmentally friendly.

Walking in Lao Cui's workshop, there are traces of various changes. In front of a working activated carbon waste gas treatment plant, Cui Chengxia introduced: "This machine replaces the original photolysis device and water washing tower, which can further improve the purification rate of waste gas. ”

As a traditional wood products production and processing enterprise, how to better achieve green production is a problem that enterprises must think about. Cui Chengxia spent a lot of energy to seek green and environmentally friendly process equipment and raw materials to achieve energy saving, consumption reduction and pollution reduction of enterprises. In 2021, he took the initiative to find a paint supplier in Hangzhou, and the two sides cooperated in the development of an environmentally friendly water-based paint. "At present, we have cooperated in the development of water-based paints, which can replace some of the oily paints after ensuring stable performance, making the products more environmentally friendly." Cui Chengxia said.

Although the scale of the factory operation is not large, Cui Chengxia will take out 20% of the annual profit every year as an environmental protection investment for the enterprise. "In the long run, these investments will help companies achieve sustainable development." He said, "Over the years, Anji County has made every effort to promote the green economic development model, and local enterprises are seeking transformation and upgrading, and we must also keep up." ”

"The ecological environment here is getting better and better." Cui Chengxia recalled that he first came to Anji in 2002. In the past 20 years, he has witnessed the green transformation and growth of this mountain city in northern Zhejiang. "In Shangshu Township, where I am located, the changes have been too great. In the past, there were some papermaking enterprises, cement building materials enterprises and mines, which damaged the ecological environment quite greatly. "Now the government is paying more and more attention to green development, and has launched a series of measures, polluting companies are either shut down or upgraded." When the government attracts investment, it also first considers whether the enterprise meets the requirements of green development. Green and environmentally friendly enterprises have gradually become the main force of local economic development. ”

"Green water and green mountains are golden mountains and silver mountains." In the interview, Cui Chengxia mentioned this sentence many times. "Anji is the birthplace of the 'Two Mountains Concept', I work in Anji, I deeply feel the charm of this sentence, but also personally feel the well-off life here - the beauty of the rich environment." Now that China is vigorously promoting rural revitalization, I, as a Chinese son-in-law, should also do something. I think there are two main points of force. Cui Chengxia thought seriously.

"Which two points?"

"The first is to improve product quality and meet the requirements of green environmental protection; the second is to seriously run the enterprise well and do it for a long time, so that the villagers who work in the enterprise will have a long-term income and everyone can live a better life together." Cui Chengxia said. (Reporter: Fang Min)