The Law of the People's Republic of China on the Promotion of Rural Revitalization, which came into effect on June 1, 2021, stipulates that local people's governments at or above the county level shall strengthen the protection of famous historical and cultural towns, traditional villages and rural styles, and villages with ethnic minority characteristics. According to reports, this is the first time that the protection of villages with ethnic minority characteristics has been written into national laws, which will surely bring better development opportunities and more changes to ethnic villages throughout the mainland. As the Promotion Law is nearly a year in place, let us turn our attention to two ethnic minority villages known as "paradises" and see how they can embark on the road of rural revitalization and prosperity through the protection and excavation of cultural tourism resources.
Zhongliao Village, Sanya, Hainan:
Enjoy the style of the Li family in the landscape
Overlooking the village of Zhongliao
Interior view of "Murakami Bookstore"
Zhongliao Village, Jiyang District, Sanya City, Hainan Province, which has a history of 100 years, is a Li village with a strong ethnic minority style. A few years ago, the village was upgraded as a whole in accordance with the principle of "no cutting down trees, no demolition of houses, no occupation of land, no greed, and no seeking of foreign countries". Today, the Li folk culture is fascinating, idyllic and picturesque... Zhongliao Village has become a "paradise" in people's hearts of "good mountains, good water, good Li family".
Zhongliao Village is only a dozen kilometers away from Yalong Bay, and walking is the most recommended way to visit in the village.
Tourists can wander around aimlessly, linger in the idyllic scenery, feel the beauty of the countryside, meet the villagers who are weaving Li brocade, making Li pottery, weaving bamboo baskets, and chat with them about the traditional handicrafts of the Li people; they can walk into the "Murakami Book House" transformed by private houses and casually flip through a few books; they can also go to the Intangible Cultural Heritage School to see the unique utensils of the Li ethnic group such as grins, burning, coconuts, and noses made of bamboo, wood, coconut, and other materials, try on exquisite Li brocade costumes, and experience the production of Li pottery, wooden chopsticks, and even movable type printing Or taste the Li family food in the village, enjoy folk performances...
"I saw the beautiful scenery of Zhongliao Village on Douyin before, and I was very yearning. Now immersed in the scene, taking the children to participate in the parent-child activities in the village, enjoying the idyllic scenery, breathing in the fresh air, and relaxing physically and mentally. Ms. Zhang, a tourist, said that this is a good place to play during the holiday.
According to Fu Cong, deputy director of the Propaganda Department of the Jiyang District Party Committee of Sanya City, in recent years, Jiyang District has adhered to the leadership of party building, actively practiced the concept of "green water and green mountains are golden mountains and silver mountains", relying on ecological and cultural resources, through a series of upgrades and transformations, realized the transformation of villagers' houses into guest rooms and villages into scenic spots, which not only drove and revitalized rural resources, brought new development opportunities for rural revitalization, but also put the rural economy on the fast track.
Zhongliao Village began the construction of beautiful villages in 2015, focusing on creating a civilized, harmonious and beautiful village that "can see the mountains, see the water, and remember the nostalgia". The village follows the principle of "symbiosis, sharing, win-win and communion" for development and construction, on the basis of preserving and protecting the good scenery of mountains and rivers, deeply excavates cultural resources, upgrades the public facilities of the village, including the launch of the Li ethnic song and dance performance project, the daily production and life of the villagers is staged and artistic; the li performing arts characteristic homestay, one household one-flavor special catering and other projects are launched to create a well-known brand; combined with the local ecology, the construction of the Li Fu Cai Garden in Zhongliao Village, the Li Family Courtyard, the Abba Tea House and the "Village Book House", etc. Let tourists feel the style of the Li family in a tree and a house, a brick and a tile, a meal and a night, a song and a dance. In recent years, Zhongliao Village has won many honors such as "National Civilized Village", "China's Beautiful Leisure Village", "Chinese Ethnic Minority Characteristic Village", "Five-star Beautiful Village in Hainan Province", "Five Coconut Rural Tourism Point in Hainan Province", etc., and has become a "net red village" for many tourists to punch in.
The relevant person in charge of the Sanya Municipal Bureau of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports told reporters that Sanya has tourism resources and multicultural spaces that integrate mountains, seas, rivers, fields, cities and islands, which is an irreplaceable advantage for the integration of culture and tourism and the construction of villages with national characteristics. On this basis, Zhongliao Village, Bohou Village, Damao Village, etc. have actively created characteristic cultural brands such as "Murakami Bookstore", transforming old buildings into small comprehensive bookstores, which not only respect history, but also give them new functions and enhance their sense of modernity, so that they are in harmony with the rural lifestyle. At the same time, through the leasing of idle houses and land upgrades and transformations of villagers, local materials, simple decoration, the design of residential buildings into homestays integrated into local ethnic cultural elements, villagers have also turned into performers in tourist scenic spots, achieved poverty alleviation and prosperity, avoided family separation and the decline of "hollow villages", and promoted social stability.
Wuying Miao Village, Liuzhou, Guangxi:
Every time I come, there are new changes
Scenery of Wuying Miao Village Photo by Huang Xiaobang
"A paradise, an independent legacy." Lao Gao, a photography enthusiast in Liuzhou who has just finished collecting style in Wuying Miao Village, said that there is a kind of quaint, tranquil and pure beauty here.
Located at the southern end of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, Wuying Miao Village is cold and remote, and one village spans two provinces and regions. There are more than 700 people in 145 households in the village, of which 104 belong to Dangjiu Village, Guandong Township, Rongshui Miao Autonomous County, Liuzhou City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and 41 households belong to Nancen Village, Cuili Yao Zhuang Nationality Township, Congjiang County, Guizhou Province. Lack of land resources, harsh natural environment, inconvenient transportation... For a long time in the past, Wuying Miaozhai could not get rid of the shackles of poverty and backwardness.
In 2017, Wuying MiaoZhai was included in the fourth batch of traditional Chinese villages. In the past five years, finances at all levels have invested more than 10 million yuan in Wuying Miao Village to carry out the transformation of traditional architectural styles and the construction of public infrastructure. In 2020, Wuying Miaozhai achieved poverty alleviation. In 2021, Wuying Miao Village was rated as a village with national characteristics in Guangxi.
"It was rural tourism that brought fire to this place, making the once poor and remote areas a punch card for tourists and photographers." Lao Gao, who goes to Wuying Miao Village several times a year, said that every time there are new discoveries and new changes, infrastructure is constantly improving, and the human ecology is also protecting better and better.
In 2021, Wuying Miaozhai implemented the "Sanhui Xingtun" rural governance model with the "Tun Party Branch Committee + Public Affairs Council + Public Affairs Supervisory Board" as the main body, with the active participation of party members, women, youth, the elderly and other groups, effectively improving the efficiency of rural governance. At the same time, with the "three meetings" as a platform, encourage and support villagers to develop characteristic industries based on resource endowments, and have successively established the Dangying Fruit Planting Professional Cooperative, the Wild Vegetable Cultivation and Improvement Experimental Base and the first homestay in Miaozhai, realizing the important exploration of developing characteristic industries and rural tourism according to local conditions. In addition, vigorously develop the traditional industry of high-quality rice planting and carp breeding, villagers planted passion fruit, peach, spring orange, summer jujube and other more than 400 acres of fruit seedlings, some fruit trees have entered the fruit hanging period, the former barren mountains into a piece of orchards.
"It is the party's good policies that have enabled the Ukrainians to live a good life." Liang Chengzhang, general secretary of the party branch and director of the village committee of Dangjiu Village, said that the development of Wuying Miao Village is inseparable from the efforts of the villagers and the support of party committees, governments and all sectors of society at all levels.
In Guangxi, Wuying Miao Village is the epitome of protecting traditional villages and villages with ethnic minority characteristics, developing characteristic industries and promoting rural revitalization. Since last year, Guangxi has guided all localities to tap the local characteristics and resources of traditional villages according to local conditions, and activate the development of villages through industry. At the same time, relying on the unique traditional ancient houses and local culture to carry out rural cultural tourism, realize the mutual promotion of traditional villages and tourism resources, and enhance the sustainability of the development of traditional villages.
In terms of the protection of villages with ethnic minority characteristics, Guangxi has increased investment and vigorously promoted the construction of villages with ethnic characteristics into demonstration points for rural revitalization. The Department of Culture and Tourism of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, together with the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Commission, the Housing Construction Department, and Guangxi Tourism Investment Group Co., Ltd., have formed a joint force to promote the development plan of ethnic villages. Focusing on consolidating and expanding the results of poverty alleviation and rural revitalization, the central financial funds have focused on rural revitalization key help counties, autonomous counties, ethnic townships, counties inhabited by ethnic minorities and other areas, and promoted the construction of ethnic villages and the development of ethnic industries. Each key ethnic village will be given an investment of 5 million yuan per village, so as to build the brand of ethnic villages with points and areas, and effectively improve the efficiency of funds. Carry out the work of "pilot projects for the integrated development of village protection and cultural tourism with ethnic characteristics", and form a demonstration and leading effect through the pilot work, drive other villages with ethnic characteristics to strive to enhance their hematopoietic functions, and explore an effective path and model for forming an effective path and model for guangxi ethnic minority areas to consolidate the results of poverty alleviation and rural revitalization.
On May 1 this year, the Regulations on the Promotion of Rural Revitalization in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region were officially implemented. The regulations stipulate that governments at or above the county level shall strengthen the protection and utilization of cultural relics and monuments, famous towns and villages, traditional villages, ethnic villages, traditional buildings, agricultural sites, irrigation engineering heritage, etc., carry out monitoring and assessment of the protection status, and promote the inheritance and development of rural cultural heritage. "The implementation of the regulations is of great practical significance to Guangxi's integration of rural cultural and tourism resources, the development of cultural tourism industries with rural characteristics, the protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage, and the construction of rural intangible cultural heritage inheritance bases and ethnic cultural ecological protection zones." Xie Riwan, deputy director of the Department of Culture and Tourism of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, said. (Chen Guanchao, Binyang, Moqu)
Source: China Culture Daily