Source: People's Daily - Shanxi Channel Original draft
In the early autumn afternoon, in the small courtyard of the silkworm farmer Li Yiping's family, the breeze brought the fragrance of mulberry leaves, and hundreds of white and fat silkworm babies lay on the ground and shelves. "Don't look at these small silkworms inconspicuous, it is a good project to increase income and get rich, the breeding time is short, and the effect is fast." Li Yiping said while exchanging mulberry leaves for silkworms.
In Yangcheng County, Shanxi Province, there are more than 30,000 silkworm farmers like Li Yiping. This industry, which has been a livelihood for the local people since the Han Dynasty, has made outstanding contributions to cultural and economic exchanges between China and foreign countries for thousands of years, and to this day, these humble little silkworms are still paving a wide road to prosperity for the local people.
It was precisely at this time that in a river valley surrounded by mountains and rivers 5 or 6 kilometers away from Yangcheng County, a private enterprise with a modern atmosphere , "Qiao Feng Ceramics", stood in front of me. In the spacious design room, 75-year-old Qiao Jiasheng is sitting at the workbench, intently fiddling with the ceramic blanks in front of him.
Qiao Jiasheng was originally the director of the State-owned Ceramics Factory in Yangcheng County, and after retiring, he went to the ceramic enterprise founded by his daughter and continued to engage in his beloved cause, hoping to pass on his accumulated lifelong experience in making pottery, and hoping to carry forward the skills taught by the people of Yangcheng for thousands of years, so that more people can appreciate the unique style of Yangcheng ceramics.
Qiao Jiasheng instructed his granddaughter to draw the clay billets.
This year, at the 14th Congress of yangcheng county of the Communist Party of China, Yao Xun, deputy secretary of the Jincheng City CPC Committee, secretary of the Political and Legal Committee, and secretary of the Yangcheng County CPC Committee, proposed to create six major cultural brands, namely the six business cards of Yangcheng, and "the hometown of silkworm mulberry and the famous capital of ceramics" is one of the well-known business cards.
On how to build and develop Yangcheng, the views of the masses at the grass-roots level and the party and government leaders are so unanimous that they all think of these two ancient industries, one soft and one hard, one black and one white: silkworm mulberry and ceramics.
The Land of Silkworm Mulberry: The Silk Road is on fire today
"The mountain is near no village water near the building, and the small bridge fireworks are several autumns." The guest came to greet the cooking chicken with a smile, and the words sangma did not stop at night. "On a stone stele in Linjian Village, Dongfeng Township, Yangcheng County, the poem "Linjian Gengsu" written by the official Shangshu Wang Guoguang during the Ming Dynasty truly recorded the customs and customs of Yangcheng at that time and the prosperous sericulture industry.
Yangcheng mulberry silkworm breeding has a long history, according to legend, in ancient times, the Yellow Emperor Yuan Concubine Ancestor, once taught the people to raise silkworms in the Area of Huashigou in Yangcheng Mountain, which opened the history of the Chinese nation in planting mulberry silkworms. In Yangcheng, there are records of Shunwang Haoze fish hunting, Shang tang king Sanglin praying for rain, Zhou Muwang Sanglin Guansang and many sericulture historical facts and stories.
The people at home regard silkworm farming as an important source of family economy, and many places also repair temple statues for silkworms, and folk activities such as feeling silkworm meetings, inviting silkworm gods, and singing silkworm plays continue to this day.
After the founding of New China, Yangcheng sericulture developed rapidly. At the end of the 1970s, it became the first silkworm cocoon "Wandan County" in the north; the "Plum Blossom" brand white factory silk produced by Yangcheng Silk Reeling Factory has won the National Gold Medal three times, and the products are exported to more than 20 countries and regions in Asia, Africa, Europe and the United States.
In 2004, Yangcheng County was awarded the "National Sericulture Standardized Production Demonstration County" by the National Standardization Commission. In 2006, "Yangcheng Silkworm Cocoon" was recognized as a national geographical indication protection product by the State Administration of Quality Supervision. In 2021, Yangcheng Sericulture applied for the sixth batch of national key agricultural cultural heritage protection, and has now announced the candidates for conservation planning.
Workers pick cocoons.
The vicissitudes of the sea, the current events have changed dramatically. Yangcheng silkworm mulberry has undergone thousands of years of ups and downs, and it is still full of green mulberry and silkworm cultivation. There are geographical advantages and traditional roots, but more importantly, there are human roots.
In recent years, the Yangcheng County CPC Committee and the county government have adapted themselves to local conditions and developed scientifically, actively explored new ways for the development of sericulture, and embarked on a new way for farmers to quickly increase their incomes by "new technologies, new varieties, specialization, scale , and high efficiency."
"The service center will send technicians to provide technical guidance to sericulture farmers in villages or townships every year during the sericulture period. As the saying goes, 'raise a good silkworm and half harvest', and now the new technology of temperature and humidity self-control silkworm centralized co-breeding implemented by the service center can increase the cocoon of a single silkworm by more than 10 catties!" Zhang Zhigang, technical backbone of Yangcheng County Sericulture Service Center, introduced.
An Zhangshe, a sericulture farmer in Zheng'anpo Village, Dongfeng Township, Yangcheng County, is a direct beneficiary of the small silkworm co-breeding technology. In the past, the incidence of silkworms he raised was high, and the yield could not go up. After receiving door-to-door training, An Zhangshe finally made up his mind to send his silkworms to the village silkworm centralized co-breeding room for breeding.
"Empiricism will not work, but we must still believe in science!" After the co-breeding of small silkworms, my family's silkworms this season sold more than 400 yuan per sheet, and the income directly increased by about 25%. After participating in the first season of silkworm co-breeding, An Zhangshe smiled happily.
With the increasing demands and growing voices of peasants to increase income, simple sericulture can no longer meet the needs of peasants to increase their income and become rich. Subsequently, Yangcheng County carried out useful explorations in extending the sericulture industry chain and carrying out comprehensive utilization.
The Yangcheng County Party Committee and the county government have actively joined the Central Plains Economic Circle. By holding various special activities to display Yangcheng sericulture to all parts of the country, the unique mulberry leaf tea, silkworm sand pillow, mulberry wine, silk quilt, silk clothing and other characteristic products have been launched, thus driving the development of Yangcheng sericulture from pure production to cultural tourism, from a single operation type to a composite development type, realizing the upgrading of the sericulture industry, and opening up a new development path for sericulture to increase efficiency and increase the income of sericulture farmers.
Today, the annual comprehensive output value of sericulture in Yangcheng County is more than 300 million yuan, accounting for 27% of the county's agricultural income. The annual per capita income of sericulture farmers is more than 5,000 yuan.
Silkworm babies eating mulberry leaves.
Mulberry field green sea paved rich road, gold cocoon silver silk embroidered. "In the future, Yangcheng County will further consolidate the foundation of mulberry garden, improve the content of science and technology, and expand the scale of industry." Create a national famous sericulture brand, and truly make Yangcheng sericulture industry a green pillar for the sustainable development of the county economy. Speaking of the future, Zhang Manqing, director of the Sericulture Service Center, is full of confidence.
Famous ceramic capital: inheriting the past and opening up the future
Similar to the sericulture industry, Yangcheng also has a long history of porcelain making, is a famous ceramic town, liuli town, not far from the county seat of the village is a famous "ceramic village" in history. "There is Jingdezhen in the south, and there is a waist in the north", this ancient folk song highlights the prominent position of Yangcheng in ancient pottery making.
During the Tang and Song dynasties, Yangcheng was famous for its abundant black and white glazed porcelain. By the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Yangcheng ceramic industry reached its peak and became a tribute product, and 90% of the glazed tiles used in the ancient building complex of the Forbidden City in Beijing were made in Yangcheng. In the 1970s, the Jade Pillar Tea Set produced by Yangcheng Ceramics Factory was selected by the Banquet Hall of the Great Hall of the People.
After entering the 21st century, the Yangcheng County Party Committee and the county government have lost no time and made bold decisions to recombine the ceramic production that was previously scattered in various places and independently, so that ceramic production can move towards the scientific development of clustering and intensive development, so that modern production and traditional craftsmanship can be combined to continuously innovate.
World ceramics look at Italy, and Chinese ceramics look at Foshan, Guangdong. In order to seize the opportunity of brand building in China's domestic ceramic industry, Yangcheng actively promotes ceramic enterprises to "go out" and "bring in", strengthen exchanges, communication and learning with Foshan governments, associations, societies and outstanding enterprises, and organize county ceramic enterprises to participate in the fourth world-class ceramics and sanitary ware trade fair - Foshan (International) Ceramics and Sanitary Ware Expo Fair for several consecutive years.
"Huaguan's first export order was obtained at the Foshan International Pottery Expo and sent to Uzbekistan for 550 tons of ceramic products. Now more and more people understand Yangcheng, Shanxi, and understand Yangcheng ceramics. Yangcheng Ceramics on behalf of the enterprise Huaguan Ceramics Co., Ltd. chairman Bai Junfeng introduced.
Exquisite Hokke works.
In 2018, after absorbing the successful experience of the exhibition economy in regional brand building, Yangcheng County held the first Shanxi Yangcheng (International) Ceramics Expo Fair, which attracted more than 60,000 people from home and abroad. During the first Tao Expo, the purchase and sale agreements of various products reached 1.8 billion yuan, and the total amount of investment and cooperation projects signed was 1.57 billion yuan, which showed the brand influence of "Yangcheng Ceramics" and "Yangcheng Liuli".
"The Yangcheng Pottery Expo has attracted the attention and focus of the whole industry on Yangcheng Ceramics, and has built a good platform for Yangcheng to expand foreign exchanges, regional brand building, and economic and trade industry development, and created unlimited business opportunities." At the 33rd Foshan (International) Ceramics and Sanitary Ware Expo Fair, Ouyang Tiansheng, president of Foshan Poyang Chamber of Commerce and chairman of Ordovician Technology, proposed to Yangcheng: "We must build the 'Yangcheng Pottery Expo' into the most influential professional exhibition brand in North China, highlight the characteristics, call Xiangyang City 'Liuli Capital', and polish the new business card of 'North China Porcelain Capital'." ”
If you can go out, you must also be able to attract in. Chen Feng, a 40-year-old native of Linyi, Shandong, has been working in the ceramics industry for more than a decade. In 2020, Chen Feng came to Yangcheng and established Dafu Ceramics Co., Ltd., mainly engaged in the production of walls and floor tiles.
"The business environment in Yangcheng is better than in Linyi." Talking about why he left home, Chen Feng only said this sentence. Chen Feng and Yangcheng's friendship began with yangcheng county merchants bureau to Shandong investment, generous policy support let entrepreneurs feel the sincerity of Yangcheng.
Today, in addition to Shandong people, there are entrepreneurs from Zhejiang, Fujian and Jiangxi in the Yangcheng Ceramic Enterprise Park. Under the organization of Yangcheng Ceramics Association, enterprises work together, share resources, and communicate anytime and anywhere, with only one purpose: to make Yangcheng Ceramics bigger and better.
"Ceramics is a rich people's industry, with the support of the Yangcheng County Party Committee and the county government, we are confident that Yangcheng ceramics will be made into products no less than Foshan." Chen Feng said firmly.
Now Yangcheng County has been awarded the "China (North China) Architectural Ceramics Production Base" by the China Building Sanitary Ceramics Association, and the "porcelain capital dream" of Yangcheng is getting closer and closer.
Ride on the momentum: work together to reinvent the brand
"It is necessary to give full play to the advantages of the sub-camp and the Sitou sericulture industrial base, extend the industrial chain, guide the processing and agglomeration development of sericulture by-products, drive the development of the sericulture industry in Qinchi, Machidian, Dongfeng, Hebei and other townships, build a whole industrial chain development pattern of 'mulberry-silkworm-cocoon-silk-ancillary products', and reshape the 'Yangcheng sericulture' brand."
"It is necessary to closely focus on building a 'famous ceramic capital', continue to implement the three-year action plan for the development of the ceramic industry, find ways to make breakthroughs in 'rising porcelain', vigorously develop advanced architectural ceramics and special ceramics, comprehensively expand new formats such as technical services, trade and exhibitions, logistics and transportation, circular economy, and continuously enhance the popularity and influence of Yangcheng ceramics."
During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the Yangcheng County Party Committee and the county government put forward new development ideas for the sericulture and ceramic industries.
In terms of the development of the sericulture industry, in the next step, Yangcheng County plans to invest 100 million yuan to complete the creation of a provincial-level modern sericulture industrial park; highlight the advantages of the talent technology and service network of the sericulture service center, vigorously support leading enterprises such as Yu Jiahao, Jinsang, and Boyu to become bigger and stronger, develop a number of new production and operation entities, and innovate scientific and scientific sericulture new technologies.
Silkworm co-breeding site.
By 2025, strive to develop 70,000 mu of mulberry gardens, and the area of various types of mulberry gardens such as silkworm mulberry, protein mulberry and fruit mulberry will reach 100,000 mu; the promotion rate of new technologies such as the construction of rich mulberry gardens in the county, the centralized co-breeding of small silkworms, the saving effort of sericulture in greenhouses, and the automatic feeding of square tungsten will reach 90%; the industrial park accounts for 75% of the county's silkworm cocoon production, covering the per capita disposable income of farmers of about 17,500 yuan.
"The ceramic industry is one of the most competitive industries in Yangcheng County to achieve 'straight sprinting, curve overtaking, and lane changing to lead'." At the 2021 Yangcheng County Party Committee Economic Work Conference, Niu Chen, deputy secretary of the county party committee and county magistrate, clearly pointed out that it is necessary to raise the "leader" of characteristic industries.
Specifically, during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, accelerate the construction of Yangcheng Guangdong Ceramic New Material Industrial Park and Yangcheng Suzhou Smart Industrial Park. Support old enterprises such as Dafu Ceramics, Fulong Ceramics, Huaguan Ceramics and other old enterprises to use new technologies and new equipment to upgrade and transform, promote the ceramic industry from low-end to high-end, realize the transformation from OEM to independent brands, and create a building ceramics industry base in northern China with reasonable industrial structure, advanced technical level and perfect industrial chain, and the output value of the ceramic industry has reached more than 2 billion yuan.
At the same time, we will adhere to the vigorous development of the exhibition economy, and hold the fourth Yangcheng (International) Pottery Expo and the second high-level academic seminar of Fahua Industry. Firmly grasp the market effect of "Shanxi Three Treasures", give full play to the advantages of yangcheng's traditional glass industry, vigorously implement the glass industry revitalization plan, and create a glass brand with local characteristics.
Today's Yangcheng is in a critical period of all-round promotion of high-quality development and comprehensive construction of socialist modernization, and Yangcheng County, which enjoys the reputation of "the hometown of sericulture" and "the famous capital of ceramics", will continue to lead the social and economic and cultural prosperity and development of Yangcheng with sericulture and ceramic industry.
Standing at a new historical node, a vibrant, innovative, diversified and shared vitality of the new city is coming. (Source: Yangcheng County Party Committee Publicity Department)