All content in this article is based on official and reliable sources, and the specific information is detailed at the end of the article
-< > foreword-
There is a village in Jiangsu Province, as early as the beginning of the 21st century, people here have realized living in villas, driving luxury cars, and saving tens of millions, which is known as the "first village in the world" and is famous.
However, time has passed, and the later "first village in the world" has a debt of 40 billion, and it has long been gone.
So, where is this village, and what is it that pulls it off the altar?
-<Tenkaichi Village Usai Village>-
When it comes to rural areas, the average person's impression seems to be that "there are no toilets in adobe houses, and there are no roads in the depths of the countryside".
However, there was a relatively hot topic on social platforms before, "How luxurious is the countryside in Zhejiang", and the number of views reached 900 million.
The photos posted by netizens on major platforms have made people see the other side of the new countryside, with full coverage of villas, natural gas, optical cables, and WiFi in the whole village, which is really amazing.
But in front of the former "No. 1 village in the world", there are some classes that have made axes.
You must know that if a thing is called "the first in the world", it must have its advantages, and the same is true for the first village in the world.
And it is Huaxi Village in Jiangsu Province, a village that once seemed to be a rural area, and after the changes of China's economic reform, it has become a village in a developed economic region, which is indeed a miracle.
In the sixties of the last century, the area of Huaxi Village was less than one square kilometer, and the population was only about 700 people.
In order to change the status quo, Wu Renbao, the village party secretary at that time, made a bold move and led the villagers to build a hardware factory and earn the first pot of gold.
After the reform and opening up, Wu Renbao led the villagers to do one big thing after another, and in 1985 he called on everyone to take out 2,000 yuan each to invest in the enterprise and make money by dividend.
Although some people questioned and opposed, the development of Huaxi Village later proved that it was correct at that time, and in less than ten years, Huaxi Group led by Huaxi Village already had 45 enterprises, including enterprises in the fields of iron and steel, chemical industry.
So with all this, how glorious was Huaxi Village at that time, and how long did this glory last?
-<From Glory to Debt> -
"Every family lives in a villa, and every household drives a luxury car", in Huaxi Village, it is not just talking, it is completely realistic.
The villas of the local villagers are often 400 square meters and 500 square meters, and several batches of villas have been built in different periods, and the villagers live in large villas, and their lives have been improved, and their happiness has also arisen.
These villas are also very beautiful, the surrounding landscape is even more exciting, and of course they not only have oversized residences, but also amazing assets.
According to the total income of Huaxi Village of 52.4 billion yuan in 2017, the villagers also got a lot of dividends and embarked on the road to prosperity.
At that time, Huaxi Village became a place that many people flocked to, and a large number of tourists came to watch, and the tourism industry of Huaxi Village also began.
And there is a landmark building here, the Huaxi Golden Pagoda, which was completed in 96, and other nine golden pagodas that were built later to form a complex of buildings that show the splendor of Huaxi Village.
The major scenic spots are full of extravagant elements, such as the hotly discussed golden bull, auspicious dragon, etc., all of which tell the glory of the "first village in the world" in the past.
However, after the beating of the tide of the times, Huaxi Village has not escaped the decline.
In 2018, Huaxi Village was rumored to be burdened with huge debts of nearly 40 billion yuan, and was once again pushed to the forefront, which means that it is not the first time that Huaxi Village has been exposed to debt risks.
In 2021, some netizens even posted a video in which a bunch of villagers lined up in the rain on the square of Huaxi Village, seemingly handling financial business, and netizens also speculated whether there was a problem with the funds.
According to local villagers, since then, the villagers have changed from 30% of the dividends to 0.5%, and such a huge gap has caused panic.
Last year, Huaxi Village also transferred 80% of the equity of Huaxi Group held here to the Jiangyin State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Office at a price of 1 yuan.
This means that the Huaxi Village model, which has been developed for decades, has come to an end.
So, why did Huaxi Village change from its former glory to what it is now?
-< is not the times that are sinister, but the > of people's hearts-
Since Wu Renbao's death in 13 years, Huaxi Village seems to have lost its backbone, and its glory is no longer what it used to be.
But what makes Huaxi Village what it is now is not the times, but the "greed" that is full of human nature.
At first, it was good to rely on collective economic development, but it gave the impression that the village was too closed and rarely brought in outstanding talents from outside.
Even the university students who have come out of here are not like other rural young people in China who have "migrated" outwards on a large scale, but many of them will return to Huaxi Village.
In 2017, there were also a lot of labels here, such as "women don't marry outside", "internal marriage", etc., and many of the marriages of young people in the village are basically introduced by acquaintances, even if there are foreign daughters-in-law or foreign aunts, most of them will bring the other half back.
This also leads to the fact that the collective management of Huaxi Village is all villagers, and the villagers have some kinship with each other, and they will have ideas for their own interests.
In fact, this is very detrimental to development.
When I was immersed in the climax of wealth in the past, not many people would think about the future, after all, people's hearts are selfish.
Some nearby villagers even believe that if Wu Renbao had not held his authority too tightly when he was in office, what happened later would not have happened, and the dragons without a leader were like a plate of scattered sand.
But have these people ever thought about how Wu Renbao didn't blame him when he led them to achieve a breakthrough from zero to one?
Why do you lose the courage to start all over again when you lose it?
As a netizen said, the transformation of Huaxi Village from closed to open, from villagers to employees, from identity to cognition, allows people to see that the economic foundation also determines the degree of social civilization.
And Huaxi Mura is also human, and defeat is also human, which is not surprising.
In any case, Huaxi Village does have a long way to go if it wants to regain its former glory.
Nowadays, many bloggers from short video platforms will come here to check in, and when they walk into the village, the proverbs left by Wu Renbao are still hanging on the roadside.
There are also many tourists who come to visit the attractions here, and many of the classic buildings are still worth visiting.
Just the day before yesterday, the 2024 International Vertical Marathon Masters also started in Huaxi Village, with more than 500 runners from home and abroad participating.
The organizing committee made full use of the famous Huaxi Junlai Dragon Hotel in Huaxi Village, a landmark building that also made the vertical marathon the world's first village-level "super vertical horse" race.
Of course, Huaxi Village also exuded another kind of light under the witness of these players.
Although it is not as good as it used to be, Huaxi Village at least once had a glorious past.
Resources:
Investor.com: "The First Village in the World" is facing bankruptcy? Huaxi Group's debt is as high as 40 billion, how long can it last?
Weinan Politics and Law: The "Disappearing" Huaxi Village
Cover News: Huaxi Village's Capital Crisis?200,000 Shares Say Good Three Years Dividend of 60,000 Yuan to 1,000 Yuan, Villagers Continue to Queue Up in the Rain for Many Days to Withdraw Money to "Protect the Principal"