In the warm, late spring days of April, the terraced fields of Wushan are bathed in sunshine. On the high-mountain terraces of Lanwa Village in Simen Town, ten thousand mu of winter rapeseed flowers are blooming in succession. Golden waves surge across the layered terraces, tracing unique "earthly fingerprints" that, set against distant mountains, unfold like a beautiful, long scroll blending agricultural texture with natural poetry.
As the May Day holiday approaches, this sea of flowers, located 35 kilometers from the county seat, is already attracting visitors. Tourists from Tianshui, Lanzhou, Lixian, Longxi, and other areas are arriving in droves, capturing the spring scenery with their cameras while also witnessing how a single rapeseed connects the crucial themes of food security, rural tourism, and increased income for local residents.
"Rapeseed has multiple values; it is both an important oil crop for ensuring supply and stabilizing food security, and it beautifies the rural landscape, adorning the spring fields," said Zhou Jianpeng, the mayor of Simen Town, with a smile. Currently, the town's rapeseed planting area has reached 14,000 mu, and the scale is steadily expanding, effectively driving the integrated development of agriculture and rural tourism.
As a major rapeseed production area in southeastern Gansu, Wushan has long moved beyond the traditional mindset of "growing rapeseed solely for oil extraction." The county has positioned the rapeseed industry as a key driver for ensuring oil supply, increasing farmers' income, and promoting the integration of agriculture, culture, and tourism. The county has established two 10,000-mu planting belts, six 1,000-mu planting bases, and ten 100-mu demonstration sites. By utilizing high-quality varieties such as the Tianyou and Longyou series suited to local conditions, the rate of improved seed adoption has reached 98%. Efficient models like crop rotation and intercropping allow the land to achieve "three harvests in two years," stabilizing oil production capacity while creating beautiful ecological scenery.
Amid the blooming sea of flowers, the chain of rural tourism is continuously extending. Just three kilometers downhill from the rapeseed flower viewing platform in Lanwa Village lies Nanping Village, home to the national 3A-level scenic spot, Nanping Scenic Area. Several distinctive farmhouses in the village, famous for their cold-water fish dishes, attract numerous flower-viewing tourists, making them popular destinations.
Wang Jiuping, owner of the Trout Garden farmhouse, has been raising trout in a pond of fresh water for 16 years. In 2014, he capitalized on the rural tourism trend by starting a farmhouse business and has since become a leader in village prosperity. "When the rapeseed flowers bloom, business booms," Wang Jiuping said with a smile. "Tourists enjoy the flowers I've planted and the meals I cook. The blend of rural life and pastoral scenery has a particularly rich flavor." During last year's May Day holiday, his farmhouse was fully booked. With more abundant flowers and improved road networks this year, he is optimistic about visitor numbers.
The integration of agriculture, culture, and tourism has been deeply developed in Wushan for years. The local government has continuously held rapeseed flower sea viewing festivals, moving beyond the superficial "one-day flower viewing" model. By connecting the flower sea with attractions like the Water Curtain Cave and Mutisi Temple, and incorporating intangible cultural heritage performances like the Xuan Drum Dance, the area has created a rural tourism belt integrating photography, sketching, leisure experiences, and study tours.
Starting from the county seat, multiple curated routes cater to different tourist preferences. A longer route connects cliffside caves, various flower viewing spots, and the Mutisi Grottoes cultural tourism area, offering a comprehensive view of cultural and tourism integration. Shorter, more leisurely routes explore sites like Laojun Mountain, Manian Scenic Area, and Dongzhuang Scenic Area, allowing visitors to enjoy a relaxed pace where pastoral scenery and cultural heritage complement each other.
Behind this cultural and tourism empowerment lies a value-added, closed-loop industrial chain. Wushan has established a processing system involving "leading enterprises + cooperatives + small-scale oil presses." Leading oil processing enterprises such as Gansu Longshang Farmstead and Wushan County Longjinfu have an annual production capacity of 5,000 tons. They develop high-end gift boxes of original ecological rapeseed oil and linseed oil, which are sold nationwide through channels like e-commerce livestreaming and the 832 Platform. The average price of rapeseed oil remains stable between 10 to 12 yuan per jin, and the comprehensive income per mu from the entire rapeseed industry chain exceeds 3,000 yuan. This truly achieves the cycle of "viewing flowers in spring, harvesting seeds in summer, extracting oil in autumn, and nourishing the land in winter," ensuring rapeseed travels from field to table and supports the income growth of local people.
Transitioning from single oil crop cultivation to a new format integrating agriculture and tourism, Wushan County closely adheres to its county-level positioning of "agriculture priority, culture and tourism empowerment." Using the rapeseed industry as a breakthrough, it is transforming farmland into parks, production areas into scenic spots, and products into gifts, making the integration of culture and tourism a powerful driver for strengthening the county and promoting revitalization.
Amid the golden sea of flowers, tourists smile joyfully, and farmers work with great enthusiasm. From the flourishing blossoms on the terraces to the fragrant rapeseed oil on store shelves, Wushan has used its rapeseed fields to connect production, ecology, and daily life. This approach not only safeguards the baseline of food security but also enhances the vitality of rural revitalization. Today, these golden terraces are welcoming visitors from all over in their most beautiful form, playing a symphony of high-quality development featuring industrial prosperity, beautiful countryside, and wealthy residents along the banks of the Wei River. This also provides a replicable and promotable Wushan model for the integrated development of county-level agriculture, culture, and tourism.
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