Walking in Nanlian Village, Sanrao Town, Raoping County, the village roads are spacious and smooth, and the villagers drink tea, play chess and chat on the stone benches by the pond in the newly built waterfront pavilion, under the towering banyan tree, and by the pond. As if they were accustomed to seeing tourists with cameras, the villagers would greet passers-by warmly: "Come and have a cup of tea?" ”
A few days ago, Nanlian Village has successively become the first batch of typical villages in Guangdong Province's "High-quality Development Project of 100 Counties, Thousands of Towns and Thousands of Villages" and "Ancient Villages in Guangdong Province". Sitting on the country's largest octagonal tulou "Daoyun Building", the integration of Chaoke culture has borne fruit here. How to keep up with the new trend of the times in the development of "agriculture, culture and tourism"? What industries can be transformed and upgraded in the village? In Nanlian Village, the story of rural revitalization has turned a new page.
Village History Yukyuta Scenic
Nanlian Village is located in the southern suburbs of Sanrao Town, Raoping County, with an area of 11.3 square kilometers, living in more than 1,000 households and a total population of 8,535 people. According to the elders in the village, Nanlian Village was originally the general name of 12 natural villages such as Daoyun Xiacuo and Nanmenlu, and because these villages are all in the southern suburbs of Sanrao Town, they are collectively called "Nanlian".
The ancient building of the Yayo Ancestral Hall in Nanlian Village. Photo by Chen Jinhuang
In Nanlian Village, there are rich historical relics and buildings such as Daoyun Building, Lixiu Building, Yayo Ancestral Hall, and "Fankeqi" ancient houses, which complement each other with the towering ancient trees next to the village road, constituting a quaint rural cultural and tourism beauty. Huang Shuzhang, Secretary of the Party Committee of Nanlian Village, said: "Daoyun Building is the most famous, and there are many tourists who come to Raoping for this 'building'. ”
Although this tulou is currently temporarily "closed" due to renovation work, just standing in front of the closed gate, you can feel its heavy history and huge "body".
Completed in 1587, the octagonal tulou has a circumference of 328 meters, with an average wall of more than 40 meters. The height of the 11.5-metre wall gives it a majestic appearance, and the thickness of the 1.6-metre wall gives it a sense of history. Covering an area of nearly 10,000 square meters, the tulou once housed more than 600 people at its peak.
According to the elders in the village, during the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, bandits surrounded Daoyun Tower, attacked for three months and finally returned in vain. Standing in front of this impregnable building, listening to the villagers tell the story of this place, the wind blows out from the gap between the doors of the building, and it seems to have traveled through a hundred years in a trance.
The main entrance of Daoyun Building. Photo by Lin Chuchu
Above the gate of the tulou, the three-character plaque of "Daoyun Building" is inscribed by Huang Jin, the book of the Nanjing Ministry of Rites in the Ming Dynasty, and it has been well preserved so far. The ancestral hall building, wood carving decoration, wall murals, clay sculptures, etc. in the building are also well preserved, and have extremely high artistic, scientific and archaeological value.
"At present, the renovation work of Daoyun Building has entered the final stage and is expected to be fully completed early next year. The staff of the Nanlian Village Committee introduced.
The interior renovation work of Daoyun Building is coming to an end. Photo by Chen Jinhuang
Historically, Nanlian Village was a key node of the Raoping Ancient Post Road. "In the past, there were no cars, so I relied on manpower to carry all kinds of materials to Raoping County, and the ancient road could go as far as Chaozhou City. Villager Huang Bo introduced that a long time ago, Nanlian villagers relied on "shoulder-to-shoulder" delivery to increase their income when they were slack.
In addition to the most well-known Daoyun Building, there is also a "Lixiu Building" tulou made of shell ash and river sand mixed in Nanlian Village, which is commonly known as "Gray Building" by the locals. The two existing tulou are the vivid embodiment of the cultural integration of Chaoke, and they are also valuable cultural tourism resources.
In addition, the former site of the Rao Fufeng branch that carries the red history, the luxurious residence "Fankeqi" built by the "Fanke" who returned to his hometown after the success of doing business in Nanyang, and many ancient temples and shrines with a long history and exquisite architecture in the village are all vivid embodiments of the red culture, overseas Chinese culture and ancestral hall culture of Nanlian Village.
The long history of the village and the rich scenery are waiting for more tourists to visit and pay attention, and they are also in urgent need of further protection and utilization.
Build roads and landscaping to give you a new look
In the Daoyun Building, the delicate work of "repairing the old as the old" continues to be carried out day after day. In the village outside the building, the "earth-shaking" rural construction also does not stop for a moment.
"In the past, the village was full of mud roads, and on sunny days, cars drove past with sand, and on rainy days, people walked all over with muddy water. Now that the asphalt roads are paved, children and the elderly will not fall easily, and they are much more relieved to go out to work. Aunt Huang, a villager, is not only the "aborigine" of Daoyun Building, but also a member of the repair team responsible for moving and lifting. In her eyes, Nanlian Village and Daoyun Building are "updated synchronously", and there is a good hope for life every day.
Renovated Longquan Temple. Photo by Lin Chuchu
The road in the village has been widened and renovated, and the road that used to be only available to motorcycles is now no problem for two cars to drive side by side. The old stage and old school in the village have been fully renewed, and a small park has been built in front of the Longquan Temple, which the villagers often visit......
Huang Shuzhang said that there are still many invisible changes in rural environmental governance. "We have invested a lot of manpower and material resources to improve the water quality in the village, strictly implement construction standards such as rain and sewage diversion, and give the villagers a good environment with clear water and green banks. ”
Quietly changing is also the surrounding environment of Daoyun Building.
Prior to the renovation, the day-to-day management of the building relied mainly on ticket revenue. Individual tourists are 20 yuan per person, and tour groups are 10 yuan per person, but the income is less than 80,000 yuan a year, which may not even be able to hire a few managers now. The management of Daoyun Building once concluded: "The main reason is that there are few nearby scenic spots, coupled with inconvenient transportation, so it is difficult to have tourists, and it is even more difficult to transform it into an inn for tourists to rest." ”
In recent years, Raoping County, Sanrao Town, and Nanlian Village have performed their respective duties, working together to promote the supporting construction around Daoyun Building, repairing historical and ancient buildings such as Lixiu Building and the former site of Raofufeng Branch, and planning "red tour" and "one-day tour" routes to create a new format for the integrated development of culture and tourism.
By the clean and tidy pond in Nanlian Village, the villagers are chatting and resting. Photo by Lin Chuchu
Today, the construction of the renovation and improvement project of the farmhouse style of Chaoke Cultural Street in Nanlian Village has been completed, and Chaoke Cultural Street has begun to take shape. In addition, the village is also planning to reserve a total investment of 30 million yuan in the Nanlian Village agricultural tourism construction project in Sanrao Town, accelerate the completion of infrastructure and public service shortcomings, carry out road construction optimization, activity centers and supporting facilities, parking lots, folk culture exhibition centers, image signs, trail projects and other construction, and strive to build a perfect vitality tourism ecological village.
Townspeople work together to promote development
The environment has been upgraded, the villagers live and work in peace and contentment, and cultural life has to keep up. During this year's Spring Festival, Nanlian Village held a lively chess competition, and the village elders and village sages gathered together to celebrate the Spring Festival.
Looking at such a cheerful and festive scene, Huang Shuzhang and the cadres of the village committee couldn't stay idle again. "On the third day of the first lunar month, we put forward the idea of establishing a Nanlian Village Education Development Promotion Association for the first time. Huang Shuzhang recalled with a smile on his face that behind it was his and the cadres of the village "two committees" who traveled to many places to mobilize villagers to donate money for several months.
Xiangxian donated more than 4 million yuan, all of which were used for scholarships and teaching in the village. In Huang Shuzhang's view, Nanlian Village's respect for teachers and education has a deep historical foundation, a "Lixiu Building" has produced two people, and the two commemorative flagpoles are still there, inspiring the descendants of the village to work hard to learn Xi and work hard.
In the process of rural construction, financing is often the most realistic problem. "Iron also needs to be hard. In this regard, Nanlian Village not only mobilized the power of rural sages, but also focused on promoting the upgrading of rural industries.
Passing near the entrance of Nanlian Village, you can see that the brand logo such as "Sanrao Ceramics" is erected on the side of the road, and some are covered with dust and sand, as if telling the glory of the ceramic industry in Nanlian Village in the past. In recent years, Nanlian Village has guided the enterprises located in the Daankou ceramic industry cluster of the village to actively participate in the development of the town, become a member of the Sanrao Town Ceramics Association, promote the mutual assistance and progress of the ceramic industry, explore the development path of the ceramic industry in the new era, and boost the high-quality development of the village economy. The village has also vigorously carried out the action of abandoning cultivated land, circulating 486 acres of land, and planting sweet potato, ginger, citrus and other crops on a moderate scale, driving the increase of farmland production and farmers' income.
"We have also introduced 100 acres of Qi Nan agarwood planting on a trial basis, its leaves can be used to make tea, and the trunk can be used to make incense, and the economic benefits are very high. Huang Shuzhang introduced. It is estimated that within 8 years, a net income of about 12 million yuan will be obtained by harvesting agarwood tea and cutting down trees for incense.
Consolidate the economic foundation of the village with industrial upgrading, and polish the brand of "Chaoke Culture" with the development of cultural tourism. In Nanlian Village, Sanrao Town, the story of rural revitalization will continue to be written.
【Text】Chen Jinhuang
【Author】
[Source] Southern Press Media Group Southern + client