Rows of apples undergo digital sorting and are labeled with traceable tags before being sold nationwide; village lanes once plagued by "garbage encircling the village" now feature clear water flowing past households and deep, serene courtyards; the blueprint for urban-rural integration on planning documents is becoming a reality through extending roads and upgraded schools... In recent years, Shanxi Province has leveraged its resource endowment, identified key industrial pathways, and explored a high-quality development path in its rural revitalization practice, transitioning 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 beyond the era of relying solely on weather. While experience guided planting in the past, the "Smart Fruit Industry Platform" now advises on watering and fertilizing, with experts providing 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 To address challenges like single varieties and outdated management techniques, the county established an Apple Industry Research Institute.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" of the industry. By formulating provincial standards and cultivation technical regulations and building more than 160 demonstration orchards, the county promotes standardized techniques such as flower and fruit thinning, integrated water and fertilizer management, green pest control, and simplified management, enhancing quality and efficiency across over 80,000 acres of orchards and increasing household income by an average of more than 6,000 yuan. The installation of six advanced 4.0 digital sorting lines enables precise selection based on color and size, while a full traceability system ensures "every apple is a premium product." Jixian County has now achieved "five 80% benchmarks": apple-specialized villages account for over 80% of all administrative villages; farmers engaged in apple-related industries constitute over 80% of the county's agricultural population; the fruit industry's output value represents over 80% of the total agricultural output value; per capita fruit income for orchardists reaches over 80% of the per capita net income of rural residents; and 80% of the county's formerly impoverished population relies on the apple industry for sustained income growth. This "small apple" has truly catalyzed a "major 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 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 controlled below 2% and a spawn run cycle shortened by 30%. Leveraging its mountainous resources, Xiangyuan County introduced and cultivated two large-scale, factory-based 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. Currently, Xiangyuan County has broken through the traditional single-agriculture model, constructing a modern industrial system encompassing "scale planting, ecological breeding, deep processing, and agritourism integration," achieving vertical extension and horizontal convergence of the industrial chain, thereby enhancing agricultural competitiveness and risk resilience. Concurrently, the county has created a series of distinctive and highly effective demonstration models whose development approach offers valuable lessons for other regions.
"Garbage used to be piled everywhere in the village, and sewage evaporated naturally. Now, we have clean cement roads outside our doors, small gardens in front and behind our houses, and toilets 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 changes in Shanxi's villages following human settlement environment improvements. 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, and investing 1.6 million yuan to initiate garbage sorting pilots in 10 villages across 4 towns, including Jincun. Regarding sewage treatment, the county systematically promoted the construction of sewage treatment facilities at the county, town, and village levels, 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 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 and achieving a 93.1% penetration rate of sanitary household toilets. A routine maintenance mechanism for public rural toilets has been established, linking "small toilets" to "major public welfare." Building on this, Zezhou County adheres to the "village-scenery integration" concept, cultivating A-level scenic villages according to the "12-having" standard, transforming the countryside into a livable home where one can "see greenery by opening 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 battle" mentality, the city coordinated the compilation of rural construction plans at the city, township, and village levels. Extensive public consultation gathered over 480 suggestions, leading to 16 revisions and refinements of the planning scheme to ensure it is "grounded, implementable, and sustainable." In environmental remediation, Xiaoyi City focused on advancing the "three major campaigns" against domestic waste, sewage, and promoting the rural toilet revolution. It continuously carried out the "Six Disorderly Practices, Six Clearances, Three Improvements"整治行动, cumulatively renovating 44,000 rural household toilets, achieving full coverage of the domestic waste collection, transport, and disposal system, and reaching a 50% rate for rural domestic sewage treatment (or control). Today's Xiaoyi countryside has seen issues like unauthorized construction and haphazard堆放彻底整治, achieving a remarkable transformation from "garbage encircling villages" to "serene courtyards," and from "sewage flowing everywhere" to "clear water winding around villages." Simultaneously, Xiaoyi City 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 "opera performances sent 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 organically combines ecological construction with industrial development. Focusing on "agriculture, culture, commerce, and tourism," and leveraging the hundred-li Zhang River, it prioritizes the development of rural tourism sites like Xiaonao's Educated Youth Hometown, Mahan Ecological 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 businesses and agricultural product sales, increasing household annual income by an average of 30,000 yuan.
The equalization of public services is dismantling the urban-rural divide. Where children once had to travel to the city for school, village schools now boast excellent environments and teachers; falling ill no longer requires long journeys, as township health centers can provide care. In promoting urban-rural integration, the equalization of public services has brought tangible improvements to people's livelihoods. Using "urban-rural coordination" as a lever, Shanxi is extending infrastructure into the countryside and expanding public service coverage to rural areas, breaking down the urban-rural binary barrier 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 and upgrading 9 main arteries, it has opened up major thoroughfares linking with the main urban area, making travel between urban and rural areas more convenient. In public service equalization, Zezhou County facilitated the relocation of the Jincheng Vocational and Technical College, ensured the normal enrollment of schools like the Wenhui Jiayuan Kindergarten, granting rural children access to quality educational resources; completed renovations of 14 township health centers and 80 village clinics, elevating rural medical service standards; 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, enabling seniors to enjoy their later years in peace. Furthermore, the county established 4 benchmark communities according to the "10-having community" standard, enhanced the capacity of 7 town centers, and created 5 community "15-minute living circles," allowing rural residents convenient access to shopping, medical care, elderly care, and leisure activities "nearby," continuously narrowing the urban-rural gap. In 2024, Zezhou County's regional GDP reached 58.54 billion yuan, ranking first among the 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.
Tightly-knit benefit linkage mechanisms embed farmers into the modern industrial system. Jixian County adopted a model of "leading enterprise + cooperative +脱贫户 + entrusted management," transferring orchards from willing farmers to capable enterprises, cooperatives, or skilled individuals for trusteeship, equity cooperation, or contracting. By reducing costs, increasing收益, and profit-sharing, orchardists gained approximately 560 yuan more per mu, achieving a win-win situation for village collectives, enterprises, and farmers. Over 10,000 mu of orchards are under "housekeeping-style" production trusteeship in the county, covering over 500 formerly impoverished households and 2,500 mu. Xiangyuan County's Tianxia Xiang Handmade Noodle Company innovated with a "enterprise + association + base + farmer + e-commerce platform" production and operation model. By linking with the Xiangyuan Handmade Noodle Cultural Experience Park and national franchise chains, it provides employment opportunities for surplus rural labor, helping farmers deeply integrate into industrial development to increase income and achieve prosperity.
By leveraging their unique endowments, deepening 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 improvements have "beautified the countryside's appearance," and urban-rural integration has "warmed people's hearts."
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