HANGZHOU, Auglearnhowtoplayvideopokerfree. 1 (Xinhua) -- Zhu Kangxiao from Xianju County in east China recently proposed an initiative to assign a unique color to each of the county's 17 townships.
These proposed colors will reflect local characteristics and will be incorporated into future tourism planning layouts to create distinctive visual identities.
This proposal is the latest effort by Zhu, a native of Zhejiang Province's Xianju and a "rural development partner" in Baita Township, to revitalize his hometown.
"Connecting townships with fixed colors makes Xianju more memorable," Zhu explained.
In Zhejiang, the birthplace of the landmark Green Rural Revival Program, rural transformation over the past 20 years has evolved from merely improving living conditions to delivering common prosperity while building beautiful villages.
In this context, concepts like "village CEOs" and "rural development partners" have emerged, as rural regions actively seek expertise to bolster their development.
"The partners will revitalize the idle assets in collaboration with the government and village collective economies. In return, they will receive favorable policies for business operations," said Shen Jiang, Party chief of Baita Township.
Xianju, with its picturesque landscapes, lives up to its name, which means "a place where immortals reside." However, its mountainous terrain has historically limited its development.
Over the years, Xianju has embraced the philosophy that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," phasing out polluting industries and developing scenic areas.
Amid the recent wave of integrating culture and tourism in China, Zhu returned to Xianju after nearly three decades, utilizing his experience in cultural and artistic business to explore Xianju's millennium-old rock painting art.
In 2023, Zhu rented an idle building from a village collective economy within the core area of the Shenxianju scenic spot -- one of China's top-rated attractions -- to establish an art center dedicated to Xianju rock painting.
The modern white building houses a great number of rock painting rubbings, vibrant local intangible cultural heritage art and diverse exquisite cultural products. To generate revenue, the exhibition hall is connected to a rock painting workshop for visitors and a cafe.
As a rural development partner, Zhu has specific performance indicators, including attracting 10,000 visitors to the local homestay industry within a year.
"Tourism and culture are inseparable. Scenic beauty draws visitors, but rich cultural experiences make them stay longer," Zhu said.
Meanwhile, eight kilometers north of the art center, the Xianju snack industrial park, a project led by another returnee Xu Ziyong, is in its final stages of development and will be operational soon.
Xianju is known for three thingslearnhowtoplayvideopokerfree: tourism, waxberry cultivation and traditional Chinese snacks. Currently, over 30,000 Xianju residents run more than 10,000 snack bars across the Yangtze River Delta region covering four provincial-level regions of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui and Shanghai, selling items like stuffed baked flatbread and steamed dumplings.
Before returning to Xianju, Xu ran 12 snack shops in Jiangsu's Suzhou city where he developed a digital platform to connect Xianju snack workers along the Yangtze River Delta.
"Xianju snack industry faces two challenges: the scattered nature of individual businesses and the lack of contribution to Xianju's economy," Xu explained.
In 2021, Xu returned to Xianju and established a semi-finished product factory, providing customized products for Xianju snack vendors nationwide and promoting employment among villagers.
After becoming a partner, Xu rented land in Baita Township to create the 6.8-mu (about 0.45 hectares) Xianju snack industrial park. The park will offer whole industrial chain services, ranging from agricultural product purchasing and shared facilities for storage and packaging to brand building and online sales, fostering the growth of startup snack businesses and industry clustering in Xianju.
"In the past, one family would get rich from their business. Now, we aim to achieve prosperity for everyone through industry clustering," Xu said.
Recently, Xu and other Xianju rural development partners met with the village CEO of Lizu Village in Zhejiang's Yiwu City, at a studio in a centuries-old village named Gaoqian.
They discussed how to introduce new industries like the cultural creative industry and dining to Gaoqian Village while preserving its ancient courtyards, drawing lessons from Lizu's early success.
Currently, Gaoqian Village's collective economy has rented out villagers' idle properties to develop homestays with cultural tourism development teams from within Zhejiang.
One beneficiary of this initiative is waxberry farmer Wang Jin, who earns an additional 70,000 yuan (around 9,815 U.S. dollars) annually by renting out his three houses.
In Xianju, there are now 76 partners like Zhu and Xu. Additionally, around 2,000 talents have returned to their hometowns under the county government's "talent return" initiative, supported by economic and policy incentives.
"We welcome talent from all over the country to come to Xianju. Beautiful villages are fertile ground for anyone with ambitions," said Xu Qiaoling, deputy head of the organization department under Xianju county’s Party committee.■