Driven by continuous ecological improvements, Yuncheng in Shanxi and Sanmenxia in Henan, both situated along the Yellow River, have become crucial stopovers on the "East Asian-Australasian Flyway" for migratory birds in recent years. The picture shows tourists admiring swans at the Yuncheng Salt Lake in Shanxi recently.
Individual apples are digitally sorted, labeled with traceable tags, and sold nationwide; alleys once plagued by "garbage besieging villages" now feature clear water winding past households and deep, serene courtyards; blueprints for urban-rural integration on planning documents are becoming reality through extending roads and upgraded schools... In recent years, Shanxi Province, leveraging its resource endowment and identifying the right industrial tracks, has explored a high-quality development path in its rural revitalization practice, moving from a single industry to diversified integration, from traditional farming to smart agriculture, and from environmental remediation to ecological livability.
In Jixian County, Linfen City, 300,000 acres of apple trees form the most magnificent local landscape. Apple cultivation has long moved past the era of relying solely on weather. While experience once guided planting, today a "Smart Orchard Platform" advises on irrigation and fertilization, supplemented by expert on-site guidance. Harvested apples undergo digital sorting, ensuring each meets size and color standards, making them highly marketable. This transformation is the result of a series of innovative measures in Jixian County.
To overcome challenges like a single variety and outdated management techniques, Jixian established an Apple Industry Research Institute. Led by experts from the national apple industry technology system, the institute cultivates new varieties with independent intellectual property rights, producing over 300,000 virus-free dwarf seedlings annually to strengthen the "roots" of the industry. The county has formulated provincial-level local standards and cultivation technical regulations, built more than 160 demonstration orchards, and promoted standardized techniques like flower and fruit thinning, integrated water and fertilizer management, green pest control, and simplified management. These efforts have driven quality and efficiency improvements across over 80,000 acres of orchards, increasing household income by an average of more than 6,000 yuan. The installation of six advanced 4.0 digital sorting lines allows precise grading based on color and size, while a full-process traceability system ensures "every apple is a premium product."
Jixian County has now achieved the "Five 80% Benchmarks": Apple-specialized villages account for over 80% of all administrative villages; over 80% of the county's farmers are engaged in apple-related industries; the fruit industry's output value constitutes over 80% of the total agricultural output value; per capita fruit income for orchard farmers reaches over 80% of the per capita net income of rural residents; and over 80% of the county's population lifted out of poverty relies on the apple industry for sustained income growth. This "little apple" has truly forged a "big industry" with an annual output value of 1.5 billion yuan, becoming a "golden shoulder pole" carrying the weight of 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 light regulation systems operate in real-time. The entire production process—from raw material mixing, bag filling, sterilization, to inoculation—is fully automated, achieving a daily output of 20,000 mushroom sticks with a contamination rate below 2% and a 30% reduction in the mycelium growth cycle. Leveraging its mountainous resources, Xiangyuan County introduced and nurtured two large-scale, industrialized mushroom enterprises. An investment of 80 million yuan built modern mushroom growing rooms, producing 3,000 tons of fresh mushrooms and 2.6 million mushroom sticks annually, with an output value exceeding 50 million yuan and providing employment for over 200 people locally.
Xiangyuan County has now broken through the traditional single-agriculture model, establishing a modern industrial system encompassing "scale planting, ecological breeding, deep processing, and agricultural-tourism 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, whose development approach offers strong replicability for other regions.
"In the past, garbage was piled everywhere in the village, and sewage evaporated naturally. Now, we step out onto clean cement roads, with small gardens in front and behind our houses. The toilets are as clean as those in the city—it's so comfortable living here!" This sentiment from a villager in Jincun Town, Zezhou County, Jincheng City, reflects the genuine transformation of Shanxi's villages following human habitat improvement efforts.
Zezhou County has achieved remarkable results in building an ecologically livable environment, establishing an integrated system for "household classification, village collection, town transport, and county disposal" of garbage. An investment of 1.6 million yuan initiated garbage sorting 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 sewage treatment plants, and 54 village-level sewage treatment stations. Sewage management has been completed in 256 villages (communities), covering 369,100 people, a coverage rate of 88.94%. The "toilet revolution" has benefited countless households: 313 villages implemented rural household toilet renovations, completing 60,037 upgrades with a sanitary toilet penetration rate of 93.1%. A routine maintenance mechanism for public toilets ensures that "small toilets connect to major livelihoods." Building on this, adhering to a "village-and-scenery integration" concept and the "12-having standard," Zezhou County cultivates A-level scenic villages, turning the countryside into livable homes where residents can "see greenery out the window and enter a garden upon stepping outside."
In Xiaoyi City, Lüliang, planning takes the lead. Breaking away from the "each village fights its own battles" mentality, the city coordinated the preparation of city, township, and village-level rural construction plans. Over 480 public suggestions were incorporated, leading to 16 revisions to ensure the plans are "grounded, implementable, and sustainable." In environmental remediation, Xiaoyi focused on "three major campaigns": domestic waste management, domestic sewage treatment, and the rural toilet revolution. Continuous efforts in the "Six Disorders, Six Clean-ups, Three Improvements" campaign have cumulatively renovated 44,000 rural household toilets, achieved full coverage of the domestic waste collection, transport, and disposal system, and reached a 50% rate for rural domestic sewage treatment (or control). Today's Xiaoyi countryside has seen issues like illegal constructions and disorderly堆放彻底整治, achieving a remarkable turnaround from "garbage-besieged villages" to "serene courtyards," and from "sewage flowing everywhere" to "clear water encircling villages." Concurrently, Xiaoyi accelerated the construction of 4 premium demonstration villages and 25 upgraded villages, addressing shortcomings in "roads, water, electricity, gas, and internet," achieving full urban-rural water supply integration. Cultural activities like 89 "performances to the countryside" benefited over 30,000 people, 309 village clinics met standardized construction requirements, and 142 daytime care centers operated normatively, allowing farmers to access quality public services close to home.
Xiangyuan County organically 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 spots like Xiaonao's Educated Youth Hometown, Mahan Eco-Leisure Cultural 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, with average annual household income increasing by 30,000 yuan.
In the past, children had to travel to the city for school; now, village schools boast excellent environments and teachers. Falling ill no longer requires long journeys, as township health centers can provide care. In advancing urban-rural integration, the equalization of public services has brought tangible improvements to people's livelihoods. Using "urban-rural coordination" as a lever, Shanxi promotes the extension of infrastructure and the coverage of public services to the countryside, breaking down the urban-rural binary divide and allowing rural residents to enjoy quality services comparable to those in cities.
Zezhou County, Jincheng City, is at the forefront of urban-rural integration. By advancing projects like the southern extension of Jianzhou Road and the eastern extension of Hongxing Street, and greening 9 main arteries, it has opened up "major pathways" linking with the main urban area, making travel more convenient. In public service equalization, Zezhou facilitated the relocation of Jincheng Vocational and Technical College, ensured the normal enrollment of schools like Wenhui Jiayuan Kindergarten, granting rural children access to quality education; completed renovations of 14 township health centers and 80 village clinics, improving rural medical services; built one urban community elderly care center, one rural regional elderly care service center, and renovated 86 rural daytime care centers for the elderly, allowing seniors to enjoy their later years in peace. Furthermore, following the "Ten-Having Community" standard, Zezhou 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 91 counties (cities) in Shanxi Province for four consecutive years. The per capita disposable income of rural residents reached 24,350 yuan, ranking first in the city by total amount, with high-quality economic development providing solid support for urban-rural integration.
Tight interest-linking mechanisms embed farmers into the modern industrial system. Jixian County adopted a model of "leading enterprise + cooperative +脱贫household + domestic service-style trusteeship." It transfers orchards from willing farmers to capable enterprises, cooperatives, or skilled individuals for trusteeship, equity cooperation, or contracting. By reducing costs, increasing revenue, and profit-sharing, orchard farmers gain approximately 560 yuan more per mu, achieving a win-win situation for village collectives, enterprises, and farmers. County-wide, over 10,000 mu of orchards are under "domestic service-style" production trusteeship, covering over 500脱贫households and 2,500 mu.
Xiangyuan County's Tianxia Xiang Handmade Noodle Company innovatively employs a "company + association + base +农户+ e-commerce platform" production and operation model. By 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 to increase income and achieve prosperity.
By leveraging their inherent strengths, deepening industries, beautifying ecology, and integrating urban and rural areas, many localities in Shanxi have achieved significant rural transformation through targeted, small-scale breakthroughs. Industrial revitalization has "filled farmers' pockets," ecological improvement has "beautified the countryside's appearance," and urban-rural integration has "warmed people's hearts."
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