‘Villagers who left are returning’ to redeveloped rural hometown
Print Edition
XUJING Village in the town of Meilong has undergone a transformation. Gone are the muddy roads, putrid waterways and crumbling brick houses. In their place are paved roadways, clean river water and newly built houses.
It’s all part of broad China efforts to upgrade the living conditions of smaller and more rural villages.
Xujing is located in the poorer end of Meilong Town. It is the only village in the town with farmland that has escaped modernization.
“Villagers who left are returning to their new homes,” said Zhao Fang, head of the village. “People no longer want to live somewhere else.”
In the past, the village was rife with small, poor businesses and illegal structures. Some 14,000 of its residents were low-income migrant families. Industrial and household waste was dumped straight into local rivers. The stench of the untreated sewage carried for kilometers around.
The Qingbang, Songjiabang and Hou rivers flow through the village. For many years, they were dark, with garbage floating on top.
The redevelopment project linked up the three waterways and enacted environmental regulations to curtail pollution.
“The narrowest part of the river used to be only three meters wide, but after redevelopment, the watercourse was widened to up to 15 meters,” said Song Xiaoliang, who headed up the waterway project.
Travel in and out of the village used to be a bumpy ride, but now dirt roads have been paved. They link the village with Hongmei Road S. and Meilian Road. Villagers can now easily get around on motorized bikes.
The new-look village also has a stage built in a public space, where people can congregate or watch performances.
“If we make the village friendly and beautiful, residents will be willing to stay and will be more enthusiastic about maintaining it,” said Chen Hao, director of Meilong Town. “We chose to redevelop Xujing Village first because it was so poor and difficult to administer.”
The next step in the rejuvenation process is to boost the economy in the village.
“We plan to devote 57 hectares to cultivation of watermelon, strawberries and other crops with ready urban markets,” said Zhang Jingao, Party secretary of Xujing.
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