Written by: Bai Yun
Posted on: May 15, 2018 | 
| 中文
Plum Blossoms
In the spring, when flowers are blossoming, people often go out to enjoy the beautiful scenery. When eco-tourism is combined with beautiful rural villages, rural areas and agriculture deserve new exploration. From “one-season flower” to “all-season scenery,” people now have more choices when they enjoy the spring scenery outdoors. The blossoms not only create a “flower economy” but also beautify the ecological environment.
Enjoying the beauty of flowers has always been a part of Chinese culture. Many Chinese people go outside in spring, to enjoy the beauty of flowers. In recent years, such enjoyment in suburb areas and rural areas has gradually become an, “agriculture+tourism” economy mode.
In spring, the mountainous area in Liujiawu, Gaojia Town, Leping, Jiangxi Province, turns into a sea of flowers. White as snow, the gardenias that cover an area of over 2,500 mu (about 1.67km2) perfume the air and attract tourists. There are over 60 scenic spots of flowers of a certain scale and more than 1,000 other areas of various kinds for enjoyment in Jiangxi.
Spring is not the only season for the appreciation of beauty of the flowers. In Qingdao, flowers always blossom. Plum blossoms of Shimei’an come in March; cherry blossoms of Zhongshan Park, azalea blossoms in Dazhu Mountain, cole flowers in West Coast Ecological Sightseeing Park, and roses of the town of Jimoling Mountain come in May and lavenders of Licha Town, Jiaozhou come in June. All the fields of flowers in Qingdao are elaborately organized, by planting different flowers according to different seasons; hence the flower season is prolonged. This all-season picture of the flowers in Qingdao breaks through the limit of time so that the tourists can always appreciate different beautiful flowers every month.
Peach blossoms, pear blossoms, lotuses, gesang flowers (special in Qinghai-Tibetan Platea), plum blossoms and flowers blossom in every season. In recent years, by taking advantage of its ecological agriculture resources and adopting the new mode of “agriculture + tourism,” Jianning County of Fujian Province has gained fame and popularity. It has been driven by the local people and extends the rural economic industrial chain of ecological agriculture. Now, “flower economy” has become a “golden name card” of Jianning, a mountainous county.
“Our village didn’t have many tourists before. Now the Cole flowers festival attracts lots of tourists and many villagers open agritainment resorts. The vegetables planted, and wild vegetables picked by the farmers are very popular. Now our village has become very famous, and the products of our cooperation also sell well.” Speaking of the profits brought by the festival, Wu Gu, Chief of Dongtianxiang Professional Cultivation Cooperation of Baixi Village, Changsha Counry, Hunan, smiles all the time.
The rise of sightseeing agriculture, leisure agriculture and tourist agriculture brings a lot of extra value, which is an important way to increase farmers’ income.
In Xianglian Village of Bajia Subdistrict, An’ning City, Yunnan, 80% of the farmland is planted with rose. 80% of local villagers grow roses which contribute to 80% of their income. However, no one can imagine that only more than a decade ago this village relied heavily on rice and corn, and was almost cut off due to its very backward communication facilities.
When the planting grows to a certain scale, with government support, villagers form a cooperation which purchases roses for further processing. The rose products are sold to Japan and the U.S., and an industrial chain that includes planting, picking, processing, and selling takes shape. Meanwhile, the industrial chain of farm products processing and value increasing also extends to the tertiary sector: roses attract tourists. Ren Shaoping, a local villager, says, “Everyone calls our roses ‘a beautiful economy’ for the flowers, which not only beautify our village, but also improve our life.”
Shitan Village, a small village on the bank of Changyuan River in Shexian County, Huangshan, Anhui Province, was unknown to the world. Every year, when the cole flowers blossom, the mountain ridges are covered with a golden carpet. On sunny mornings, after a shower of rain, the sea of clouds rises from the village to the mountain top. Rosy clouds float over the bright flowers, creating a spectacular scene. During the 1980s, some photographers came to Shitan by chance and posted photos of this beautiful village which spread quickly. Shitan, therefore, became famous in the photography circle of China.
In recent years, the village has developed quality agriculture and guides villagers to grow ornamental plants that thrive in different seasons. Therefore, a new tourist mode that includes Cole flowers of the spring, sunflowers of the summer, chrysanthemum of the autumn and plum blossoms of winter is formed. Now, Shitan Village receives 200,000 tourists every year, and has more than 50 agritainment resorts. About 600 villagers engage directly in tourism and other related works, and the comprehensive income from tourism crosses 10 million yuan.
In June, the section of Ili River Valley in Hocheng County of Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang, is covered in sunshine and rosy clouds of flowers, with more than a thousand mu area of lavender flowers perfuming the place and attracting tourists from different places of China. In recent years, Hocheng makes full use of the advantages of its ecological environment and natural resources and has become one of the three major lavender production areas of the world.
The flower language of lavender is, “waiting for love.” This romantic flower of love attracts many people to enjoy its beauty. The lavender park in Hocheng not only creates a romantic and beautiful environment for local people, but also brings them actual economic profits. Lavender manufacturing enterprises settle in Hocheng one after another. While promoting the “fragrance tourism,” these enterprises are designing and producing “fragrant products” continuously, to raise the added value of local tourism. Various products of cosmetics, health care, and home appliances are showcased in the lavender park of Princess Jieyou, a company that also designs stationeries with lavender patterns, and gains popularity among consumers.
The lavender industry improves the life of people and also influences local ecology in a positive way. The wild ducks and birds often seen in this area are the best proof of this change.
From the perspective of building an ecological civilization, a good ecological environment is an invaluable asset. By developing the countryside with lucid waters and lush mountains and by creating a beautiful livable environment and a safe ecological agriculture for people, the organic unity of “people’s welfare” and “ecological beauty” can be achieved.
Translated by Zhusiyu
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