Apples undergo digital sorting and are labeled with traceable tags before being sold nationwide; once litter-strewn village lanes are now graced by clear water and deep courtyards; blueprints for urban-rural integration on planning documents are becoming reality through extending roads and upgraded schools... In recent years, Shanxi Province has leveraged its resource endowment to identify the right industrial tracks, exploring a high-quality development path through rural revitalization practice—transitioning from single industries to diversified integration, from traditional farming to smart agriculture, and from environmental remediation to ecological livability.
A small specialty product has linked up the entire industrial chain. In Jixian County, Linfen City, 300,000 acres of apple trees form the most magnificent local landscape. Apple cultivation has long shed its reliance on favorable weather. Previously based on experience, planting now benefits from the "Smart Orchard Platform" reminding farmers to water and fertilize, supplemented by expert on-site guidance. Harvested apples are digitally sorted by size and color, meeting standards and ensuring easy sales. This transformation stems from a series of innovative measures in Jixian County.
To overcome challenges like single-variety dominance and outdated management techniques, Jixian established an Apple Industry Research Institute. Led by experts from the national apple industry technology system, it cultivates new varieties with independent intellectual property rights, producing over 300,000 virus-free dwarf seedlings annually to strengthen the "roots." The county formulated provincial standards and cultivation technical regulations, built more than 160 demonstration orchards, and promoted standardized techniques like flower and fruit thinning, integrated water-fertilization, green pest control, and simplified management. These efforts have improved quality and efficiency across over 80,000 acres of orchards, increasing household income by more than 6,000 yuan on average. Equipped with six advanced 4.0 digital sorting lines, apples are precisely graded by color and size, supported by a full traceability system ensuring "every apple is a premium product."
Jixian County has now achieved the "Five 80% Milestones": apple-specialized villages account for over 80% of all administrative villages; farmers engaged in apple-related industries represent over 80% of the county's agricultural population; the fruit industry's output value constitutes over 80% of the total agricultural output value; per capita fruit income for orchardists reaches over 80% of the rural residents' per capita net income; and 80% of the county's formerly impoverished population sustains income growth through the apple industry. This "small apple" has genuinely forged a "big industry" with an annual output value of 1.5 billion yuan, becoming a "golden carrying pole" shouldering rural revitalization.
The code to industrial revitalization is also hidden within the mushroom greenhouses of Xiangyuan County, Changzhi City. Inside the automated production workshop of Xinyu (Shanxi) Agricultural Development Co., Ltd., temperature control, drip irrigation, and lighting systems operate in real-time. Processes from raw material mixing, bag filling, sterilization, to inoculation are fully automated, achieving a daily output of 20,000 mushroom sticks with a contamination rate below 2% and a 30% reduction in the spawn-running cycle. Leveraging its mountainous resources, Xiangyuan County introduced and nurtured two large-scale, industrialized mushroom enterprises. With a total investment of 80 million yuan, modern mushroom growing rooms were built, producing 3,000 tons of fresh mushrooms and 2.6 million mushroom sticks annually, generating over 50 million yuan in output value and providing employment for more than 200 people locally.
Xiangyuan County has now moved beyond traditional mono-agriculture, constructing a modern industrial system encompassing "scale planting, ecological breeding, deep processing, and agritourism integration." This achieves both vertical extension and horizontal convergence of the industrial chain, enhancing agricultural competitiveness and risk resilience. Simultaneously, the county has created a series of distinctive and highly effective demonstration models. Its development approach possesses strong replicability, offering valuable lessons for other regions.
Old villages have transformed into models of livability. "Before, garbage was piled everywhere, and sewage evaporated naturally. Now, we have clean cement roads outside our doors, small gardens around our houses, and toilets as clean as those in the city—it's so comfortable to live here!" This sentiment from a villager in Jincun Town, Zezhou County, reflects the genuine changes in Shanxi's villages following human settlement environment improvements.
Zezhou County, Jincheng City, has achieved significant results in building an ecologically livable environment, establishing an integrated garbage collection, transport, and disposal system following the "household classification, village collection, town transport, county disposal" model. It invested 1.6 million yuan to initiate garbage classification pilots in 10 villages across 4 towns, including Jincun. Regarding sewage treatment, Zezhou County systematically promoted the construction of county, town, and village-level sewage treatment facilities, building one county-level sewage treatment station, 11 town-level treatment plants, and 54 village-level treatment stations. Sewage management has been completed in 256 villages (communities), covering a population of 369,100, with a coverage rate of 88.94%. The "toilet revolution" has benefited countless households: 313 villages implemented rural household toilet renovations, completing 60,037 upgrades, achieving a 93.1% penetration rate for sanitary household toilets. A regular maintenance mechanism for rural public toilets ensures that "small toilets connect to major livelihoods." Building on this, Zezhou County adheres to the "village-and-scenery integration" concept, developing A-level scenic villages according to the "12 criteria," turning the countryside into a livable home where "green views greet you at the window, and parks await outside your door."
In Xiaoyi City, Lüliang, planning takes the lead. Breaking away from the "each village fights alone" mentality, it coordinated the compilation of city, township, and village-level rural construction plans. Extensive public consultation gathered over 480 suggestions, leading to 16 revisions ensuring the plans are "grounded, implementable, and sustainable." For environmental improvement, Xiaoyi focused on three key battles: domestic waste management, domestic sewage treatment, and the rural toilet revolution. It continuously carried out the "Six Disorderlies, Six Cleans, Three Improvements" campaign, cumulatively renovating 44,000 rural household toilets, achieving full coverage of the domestic waste collection and disposal system, and reaching a 50% rate for rural domestic sewage treatment (or control). Today's Xiaoyi countryside has seen issues like illegal structures and haphazard堆放彻底 addressed, transforming from "villages besieged by garbage" to "courtyards of depth," and from "sewage flowing freely" to "clear water winding through villages." Concurrently, Xiaoyi accelerated the construction of 4 premium demonstration villages and 25 upgrade villages, addressing shortcomings in "roads, water, electricity, gas, and internet," achieving full coverage of integrated urban-rural water supply. It staged 89 "performances delivered to the countryside" benefiting over 30,000 people, standardized 309 village clinics, and normalized operations at 142 daytime care centers, allowing farmers to access quality public services close to home.
Xiangyuan County effectively combines ecological construction with industrial development. Focusing on "agriculture, culture, commerce, and tourism," and leveraging the hundred-li Zhang River, it emphasizes developing rural tourism sites like Xiaonao's Educated Youth Hometown, Mahan Ecological Leisure Culture & Tourism, Shangliang Agri-Cultural Tourism Experience Park, Qiangji Commune Memory, and Siting Camping Base. For instance, Jianhua Village, utilizing its landscape and ecological resources, built a rural tourism base integrating camping, research trips, and farming experiences. During peak season, it receives an average of 500 visitors daily, effectively boosting surrounding agritainment and agricultural product sales, increasing average household annual income by 30,000 yuan.
Equalized services are breaking down the urban-rural divide. Previously, children had to travel to the city for school; now, village schools boast good environments and excellent teachers. Falling ill no longer requires long journeys, as township health centers can provide care. In promoting urban-rural integrated development, the equalization of public services has brought tangible changes to people's livelihoods. Using "urban-rural coordination" as a lever, Shanxi is extending infrastructure and covering rural areas with public services, breaking down the dualistic barriers and allowing rural residents to enjoy quality services comparable to urban ones.
Zezhou County, Jincheng City, is at the forefront of urban-rural integration. By advancing projects like the southward extension of Jianzhou Road and eastward extension of Hongxing Street, and greening 9 main arteries, it has opened up major "thoroughfares" linking with the main urban area, making travel more convenient. In public service equalization, Zezhou County facilitated the relocation of Jincheng Vocational and Technical College, ensured normal enrollment for schools like Wenhui Jiayuan Kindergarten, granting rural children access to quality education; completed renovations for 14 township health centers and 80 village clinics, elevating rural medical services; built one urban community elderly care center and one rural regional elderly care service center, and renovated 86 rural daytime care centers for the elderly. Simultaneously, following the "Ten-Haves Community" standard, it created 4 benchmark communities, enhanced the capacity of 7 town centers, and established 5 community "15-minute life circles," enabling rural residents convenient access to shopping, healthcare, elderly care, and leisure, thereby continuously narrowing the urban-rural gap. In 2024, Zezhou County's regional GDP reached 58.54 billion yuan, ranking first among Shanxi's 91 counties (cities) for four consecutive years. The per capita disposable income of rural residents hit 24,350 yuan, ranking first in the city. High-quality economic development provides solid support for urban-rural integration.
Tight interest-linking mechanisms embed farmers into the modern industrial system. Jixian County adopted a "leading enterprise + cooperative +脱贫household + entrusted management" model. Orchards belonging to willing fruit farmers are transferred to capable enterprises, cooperatives, or skilled individuals for trusteeship, equity cooperation, or contracting. Through cost reduction, increased收益, and profit sharing, fruit farmers gain about 560 yuan more per mu, achieving a win-win for village collectives, enterprises, and farmers. County-wide, "housekeeping-style" production trusteeship covers over 10,000 mu of orchards, involving more than 500脱贫households across 2,500+ mu.
Xiangyuan County's Tianxiaxiang Handmade Noodle Company innovatively employs a "company + association + base + farmer + e-commerce platform" production model. Linking with the Xiangyuan Handmade Noodle Cultural Experience Park and national franchise chains, it provides jobs for surplus rural labor, helping farmers deeply integrate into industrial development for income growth.
By building on their unique endowments, deeply cultivating industries, beautifying ecology, and integrating urban and rural areas, many localities in Shanxi have achieved significant rural transformation through targeted, incremental breakthroughs. Industrial revitalization has "filled farmers' pockets," ecological improvement has "beautified the countryside's appearance," and urban-rural integration has "warmed the people's hearts."
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