At the Yao Shui Grand Stage, a cultural performance unfolds, featuring crested ibises, captured by photographer Li Xujiang. Where the spring tide surges, the drive for progress is timely. Standing at a new historical juncture, looking back at the solid strides that marked the successful conclusion of the "14th Five-Year Plan" and looking ahead to the grand voyage of the "15th Five-Year Plan," Yao Zhou District has anchored its position as the "pacesetter" for high-quality development city-wide. Guided by deepening the "Three-Year" activities and fighting the "Eight Tough Battles," it has deepened its development foundation in economic construction, activated endogenous momentum in rural revitalization, embedded a people-centered ethos in practical livelihood matters, and consolidated driving forces through cultural empowerment. The district has delivered a substantial and inspiring report card for the times and is now writing a new chapter in the Yao Zhou practice of Chinese modernization with high morale and vigorous momentum.
Project攻坚 and industrial upgrading have accelerated economic development. Projects are the lifeline of development, and industry is the hard support for rise. Yao Zhou District focuses on three leading industries—green building materials, equipment manufacturing, and new materials—using the "chain chief system" as a guide to solidly work on planning, investment attraction, and construction, promoting stable economic progress with improved quality and efficiency. In 2025, the district's gross domestic product is expected to grow by about 5.5%, the added value of the service sector by 6%, and fixed-asset investment by 11.1%, with the growth rate ranking first in the city. A series of impressive figures testify to the robust resilience of Yao Zhou's economy.
Within the New Materials Industrial Park of the Yao Zhou Economic and Technological Development Zone, a fervor of production and construction is palpable. In the production workshop of Tiance New Material Technology Co., Ltd., strands of high-performance pitch-based carbon fiber, fine as hair, are being systematically produced. A company representative explained, "We extract raw materials from waste produced by the energy industry, successfully overcoming a critical 'bottleneck' technology. This transforms waste materials, increasing their value a thousandfold, and establishes us as the nation's first 'Little Giant' tech enterprise to achieve engineering-scale production of this material."
Arriving at the plant site of Jidong Cement Tongchuan Co., Ltd. in the Huiyuan Industrial Park, the world's first ten-thousand-ton-level "unmanned cement production line" operates with high efficiency. This world-class breakthrough scientific and technological achievement has equipped the traditional industry with the wings of intelligent upgrading.
Innovation-driven development and industrial upgrading have injected powerful kinetic energy into growth. Yao Zhou District has proactively laid out plans for the low-altitude economy, securing 5,595.8 square kilometers of exclusive airspace. A large fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle successfully completed its maiden flight and was delivered. Projects including a UAV runway, command center, and UAV production line have been completed, opening up a new track for industrial development. The digital e-commerce industrial park is gaining strong momentum, being selected as a "National Typical Case of County Live Streaming E-commerce Centers." Projects such as the intelligent customer service base and the Qin Crisp Apple e-commerce platform have been fully completed, with 6 new "Data Factor X" application scenarios cultivated. Revenue and investment in the core digital economy industries grew by 18% and 12%, respectively. Concurrently, leading chain-master enterprises like CATL, LONGi Green Energy Technology, and SBT have successively established presence, and 112 projects including those from China Energy Engineering Group and Heima Zhonghang Glass have been implemented. A diversified support structure featuring "primary industry stabilizing the base, secondary industry improving quality, and tertiary industry increasing efficiency" is gradually taking shape.
"The district-level leadership下沉到一线, solving problems with 'one enterprise, one policy,' which gives us more confidence in our development," said a负责人 of Yaobai Special Cement Co., Ltd., with deep feeling. In 2025, Yao Zhou District deeply advanced the "High-Quality Project Promotion Year" activity, completing investments of 8 billion yuan. Forty projects, including the first phase of the copper-based new materials project and the Zhongyu Biomass Base project, were completed and operational within the year. The district consistently maintained a top comprehensive ranking in city-wide key project观摩, forming a development pattern characterized by project acceleration and investment quality improvement.
Adhering to reform and innovation has unleashed market vitality. Focusing on "efficiently handling one matter," 38 high-frequency livelihood service items have been delegated to town (street) convenience service centers. The "circle of friends" for cross-regional handling has expanded to 53 regions across 6 provinces. The district was successfully selected as a provincial-level innovation demonstration zone for business environment. Innovating the "new media + investment attraction" model, 20 investment promotion teams were formed to conduct targeted investment along industrial chains, resulting in the signing of 101 projects for the year, including 32 projects valued over 100 million yuan. Twenty-six "small-cut" reforms were launched, and several provincially pioneering financial services were implemented, continuously stimulating endogenous动力.
Industries taking root and villages transforming their appearance play a "happiness melody" on the road to revitalization. In the winter countryside of Yao Zhou, one finds not only clean and tidy living environments but also flourishing industries that enrich the people.
In the deep winter, entering the Shuzhi Agricultural Industry Demonstration Park in Xiaojiu Town, Yao Zhou District, newly built high-standard solar greenhouses are filled with neatly arranged, verdant tomato seedlings, presenting a scene full of vitality. Yang Nan, a technical expert from Shouguang Agricultural Holding Group, explained, "Using IoT technology, we precisely monitor and regulate the temperature and humidity inside the greenhouses. Operations like heat retention and ventilation can be managed with just a mobile phone, reducing the tomato planting cycle from 80-90 days to around 50 days." This modern agricultural industrial demonstration park, brimming with a sense of technology, was invested in and constructed by Shouguang Agricultural Holding Group Co., Ltd. The park promotes a "state-owned enterprise + professional team + farmer cooperatives" model, helping farmers transition from "experiential farming" to "scientific farming." Currently, two experimental greenhouses have been built and put into operation, with the first batch of vegetables expected to officially hit the market around the Spring Festival.
Industrial revitalization is the core of rural revitalization. Yao Zhou District has built eight characteristic modern agricultural industrial chains, including apples, shiitake mushrooms, and layer hens, and established 23 agricultural parks. "Yao Zhou Cherry," "Yao Zhou Pepper," "Yao Zhou Mutton," "Yao Zhou Skullcap," and "Yao Zhou Shiitake Mushroom" have been included in the National List of Famous, Special, and New Agricultural Products. "Yao Zhou Apple" has passed national green food base certification and EU Good Agricultural Practice certification. The summarized "Apple Green Rootstock Trellis-Free Dwarf Cultivation Technique" was selected as a primary agricultural promotion technology in Shaanxi Province, with green rootstock seedlings going abroad. In 2025, the added value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery in Yao Zhou District reached 1.974 billion yuan, an increase of 4.1%, with the growth rate ranking first in the city. The output value of characteristic agriculture, represented by apples and facility agriculture, exceeded 2 billion yuan for the first time.
The rural living environment continues to improve. Yao Zhou District has constructed a "Ten Million Project" demonstration framework described as "one core, two wings, three lines." This involves taking Yao Zhou urban area as the core demonstration zone, Dongjiahe Town and Sunyuan Town as demonstration slices, and deepening the creation of three development demonstration belts along Yao-Xun Road, Liu-Zhao Road, and Shi-Yao Road. The district implemented a five-year action plan for improving the rural living environment, established a long-term mechanism for village cleanliness, carried out the "Planting Flowers and Greenery, Beautifying the Villages" campaign, and promoted continuous improvement of the village environment. It successfully created 8 provincial-level "Ten Million Project" demonstration villages, with the "Zhaojin Model," "Shuiyu Mode," and "Mazui Butterfly Change" being selected as typical cases in the provincial "Ten Million Project."
Today's Yao Zhou countryside features hardened and illuminated roads, clean and tidy courtyards, lush apple orchards, pepper trees laden with fruit, humming community factories, and bustling live-streaming rooms. The sense of gain and happiness among villagers continues to rise.
Putting people's livelihoods first and welfare as essential, a "warm色调" of happiness is being painted. The quality of life is best judged by the people themselves.
"Before, the road surface wasn't very smooth. Sometimes when vehicles passed by, the noise in the house while sleeping was quite loud, 'clattering.' Now, after the renovation, it's very quiet at night for sleeping. The surveillance cameras cover the entire complex 24 hours a day, which makes us feel very secure. All vehicles are parked in their designated spots, everything looks very orderly." Speaking about the changes after the renovation of Huayuan Residential Quarter, resident Li Ping, who lives there, has witnessed the community's transformation.
The metamorphosis of urban and rural environments represents the most直观的 improvement in people's livelihoods. Yao Zhou District insists on addressing both the "face" and the "substance," continuously promoting urban renewal actions to make the city more livable and the countryside more beautiful. Focusing on functional and qualitative enhancement, four old residential community renovations, the Changqing Teng Square "pocket park," and the renovation and upgrade of the People's Stadium have been completed and put into use. The upgrading projects for Yaowang Avenue and Wenying West Road were successfully finished, and the environmental support tasks for the Xi'an-Yan'an High-Speed Railway were fully accomplished. Meanwhile, consumer subsidy policies were implemented, six 15-minute便民生活圈 were created, and 57特色主题活动 like "Yanhuo Market" and "Mountain Goods Go Online" stimulated consumption by over 40 million yuan, earning the district the title of "National Leading County in County Commercial System Construction."
"My child's school is closer to home now, and the school environment is getting better and better. We parents are particularly reassured!" said Ms. Zhang, a resident of Yao Zhou urban area, praising the school renovation project near her home. In 2025, Yao Zhou District solidly advanced the "Two Creations" in education, promoted high-quality and balanced educational development, completed the "refurbishment" and upgrading projects for 9 school buildings, and achieved a digital campus compliance rate exceeding 90%. Over 1,200 new student placements were added, allowing children to enjoy优质 educational resources right at their doorstep.
Employment is the most fundamental aspect of people's livelihoods, concerning the "rice bowls" of thousands of households and the happiness aspirations of the people. Yao Zhou District深入 carried out initiatives like "Human Resources and Social Security Entering the Parks" and the "Six Major Actions for Increasing Farmers' Incomes." Through various means such as搭建 employment platforms, conducting skills training, and supporting entrepreneurship to drive employment, it made every effort to stabilize and expand employment. In 2025, 2,050 new urban jobs were created, and 38.05 million yuan in创业担保贷款 was disbursed.
Deepening the reform of the medical and health system, Yao Zhou District established a Regional Medical Consortium Development and Operation Center to promote the下沉 of high-quality medical resources, significantly enhancing the service capabilities of primary medical institutions. Appropriate technology promotion stations at Sunyuan and Xiaojiu Town Health Centers were built and put into use. The inheritance base for the processing techniques of the Hometown of Yaowang and the inheritance workstation of national veteran pharmacist Wang Changli were successfully established.
The ecological environment continues to improve, with air quality ranking among the top in the Guanzhong region, and the water quality at出境断面稳定 remaining at Class III. The cumulative number of "Yao Zhou native" crested ibises has reached 282.
Cultural development builds the soul and empowers growth, allowing the millennia-old cultural lineage to radiate "new vitality." In 2025, Yao Zhou District was selected for the national pilot program on cultural industry empowering rural revitalization and the pilot on the protection and promotion of folk art copyrights, indicating that the cultural industry has become an important engine for high-quality development.
The protection and活化 utilization of cultural relics have yielded significant results. Yao Zhou District has continuously strengthened the systematic protection of various heritages, including cultural relics, historical sites, and revolutionary sites. It has enhanced the protective restoration and活化 utilization of cultural relics like the Confucian Temple and the Tomb of Liu Gongquan, facilitated the活态传承 of intangible cultural heritage such as Yao porcelain firing and the Yaowangshan Temple Fair, and focused on literary and artistic creation, enterprise support, and artisan cultivation to promote cultural prosperity and development.
Public cultural services have been continuously optimized and upgraded. Public cultural facilities such as the district library and the public small theater have been completed and put into use. The allocation of cultural resources in urban and rural areas has been continuously optimized, with three-tier public cultural facilities being upgraded, and the role of new era civilization practice centers fully utilized. To date, Yao Zhou District has established 391 cultural and artistic teams and registered over 1,200 cultural volunteers, forming a "cultural new force" rooted at the grassroots level. On average, 200 various cultural activities are held annually, along with over 2,000 public film screenings, serving 600,000 people, allowing the public to enjoy "cultural feasts" right at their doorstep.
The integrated "culture+" development model showcases numerous highlights. Leveraging its unique resource endowment, Yao Zhou District has deepened the integrated development of "culture + tourism," "culture + creative industries," and "culture + industry." It has innovatively developed carriers like game植入 and digital museums to build cultural brands and industrial clusters with core competitiveness. Red culture, cultural tourism resources, and ecological advantages are organically combined to shape a highly recognizable historical and cultural city IP, accelerating the creation of a core bearing area for cultural city revitalization. With the opening of the Xi'an-Yan'an High-Speed Railway as an opportunity, Yao Zhou District will further strengthen its function as a transportation hub, allowing the cultural tourism industry to embrace greater development opportunities.
From the fervent activity of project construction to the vitality of rural revitalization, from the持续升温 of people's livelihoods to the flourishing development of cultural endeavors, Yao Zhou District has taken solid steps and achieved remarkable results on the path of high-quality development. Standing at the new starting point of the "15th Five-Year Plan," Yao Zhou District will closely align with the provincial layout of "dual-pole driving, multi-point support, and tri-region coordination," firmly acting as the city's "pacesetter" for high-quality development. It will promote the connotative deepening and functional upgrading of the "One City, Three Districts, Three Highlands" development, strive to build an important承载区 for coordinated and integrated development within the Xi'an Metropolitan Circle, continuously advance high-quality comprehensive transformation and development steadily and substantively, and vigorously write a new chapter of Yao Zhou in the construction of Chinese modernization.
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