The Miraculous Turnaround of Daxi Village

Daxi Village,located in the city of Yidu in southwest Hubei Province,is enclosed by mountains and marked by a long and narrow terrain of 31.2 square kilometers.It is the largest village in Yidu’s Honghuatao Town.On June 17,2020,we drove along a winding road,in and out of the rolling hills and flourishing green landscape,to visit Daxi.We were taken aback by the gorgeous view in the remote mountainous area when we arrived and beheld such a tranquil and peaceful village in front of us.Many recentlyconstructed southern-styled structures characterized by black roof tiles and white walls sprung up into our eyes.

“Three years ago,Daxi was listed as a provincial povertystricken village,” smiled Chen Changhong,secretary of the village administration.“But now it has emerged as a model village in Hubei Province in the implementation of the Beautiful Countryside Project.”

112 villagers lifted out of poverty

Daxi Village has a weak foundation for industrial development for its small population and backward location in the rugged mountains of Hubei.“It wasn’t that long ago that the whole village had 291 families with a population of 866,and 112 villagers from 43 families were living in abject poverty,” he recalled.

Lin Yusen,58,a villager of Group 5,used to live in the deep recesses of the mountain,15 kilometers away from the village administration.With muddy paths and rocky roads,the treacherous road conditions hindered the local bamboo and tangerine industries.Generations of villagers toiled in the barren fields,scratching out a meager existence trying to farm the sterile,rocky land.A whole year of intensive labor only brought in a minimal income.In 2015,the Lin family was rated as an impoverished family.

In October 2016,Lin and his family were relocated to the poverty alleviation settlement of the village.Lin was assigned a job at the village fish farm,with a monthly wage of 2,300 yuan.His wife,who works as a cleaner,brings in an additional 250 yuan per month.Plus land transfer fees of 2,600 yuan per year for his 4-mu (0.66-acre) lot,an annual dividend of 600 yuan,and a yearly subsidy of 3,800 yuan from the photovoltaic project.“My salary now equals to my family’s previous yearly income,” Lin beamed.

Lin’s family has been better offsince they moved out of the remote mountain.Their bright,spacious new house,with one living room and two bedrooms,is on par with the more well-to-do residents in the city.It is well furnished and equipped with household appliances such as a flat panel television and a refrigerator.And they even bought a motorcycle which can park right at the front gate.

In 2017,all of the 112 impoverished households,like Lin’s family in Daxi Village were lifted out of poverty.

Happiness and prosperity packed into lingzhi mushrooms

Industrialization and systematization are the keys to rural development.the village administration proposed that the mountains behind us should be the source of industrial development we rely on.In September 2017,the Yidu Yu Nong Ecological Agricultural Cooperative was founded in Daxi Village It completed 50 standardized greenhouses on approximately 35 mu (5.8 acres)of transferred land beyond Daxi Sturgeon Valley and Longdongwan to plant morels.

Fang Binghua,head of the cooperative,said that they produced dry morels with an annual output of 300 kilograms,generating revenues of about 150,000 yuan.Every year,business in the area added 15,000 yuan in per capita income and a yearly dividend of 20,000 yuan for poverty-stricken families.

Morels were planted one season per year and harvested at the end of March.Then,the greenhouses were left unoccupied for eight months.So the cooperative decided to introduce 100,000 lingzhi mushrooms(also called Ganoderma lingzhi and reishi,a kind of genus Ganoderma) for trial cultivation,which finally proved a success.

In one of the farms,we were attracted by the flourishing field where the meaty,golden-lined lingzhi mushrooms emerged from the fertile soil like open umbrellas.According to Zou Shengqiao,an agricultural technician,farmers can get a triple harvest of the mushrooms per annum—with three consecutive harvests on the same land in the same year.Besides planting lingzhi mushrooms as a medical herb,the cooperative has also developed them as bonsai plants to enhance their added value.

中國湖北省西部宜昌市的大溪村，四面環山，地形狹長，占地面積31.2 平方公里，是宜都市紅花套鎮面積最大的村。

2020年6月17日，我們驅車沿著一條蜿蜒前行的柏油公路行駛，兩側山巒起伏，滿目蔥蘢；我們萬萬沒想到，如此大山深處居然別有洞天。車到大溪村村委會，眼前豁然開朗——一個白墻黛瓦、頗具江南風情的恬靜村莊躍入眼簾。

“3年前這里還是省級貧困村，如今已變成全省美麗鄉村建設示范村。”村黨總支書記陳長紅樂呵呵地介紹。

112 人甩掉貧困帽

大溪村山大人稀，產業基礎一度十分薄弱。“過去，全村291 戶866 人，其中貧困戶就有43 戶112 人。”陳長紅說。

58 歲的林毓森是五組村民，曾住在大山深處，距離村委會約15 公里。路難行，車難進，人難出，毛竹和柑橘是當地的主導產業，祖祖輩輩臉朝黃土背朝天，在泥土里摳錢，忙忙碌碌一整年，收入卻微乎其微。2015年，林毓森家被列為貧困戶。

2016年10月，林毓森一家三口搬進村里扶貧安置點。林毓森被安排在村里的漁業養殖基地上班，每月收入2300 元；妻子在村里做保潔，每月收入250 元；家里4 畝土地流轉費每年2600 元，參與分紅600 元，光伏補貼每年3800 元……“我一個人的工資都趕上了過去全家的收入。”他咧著嘴笑了。

走出大山，林家的日子一天天紅火起來。林毓森的新家，家庭陳設與城里的家庭沒什么區別——二室一廳的房子寬敞明亮，平板電視、電冰箱等一應俱全，摩托車直接開到家門口。

2017年，和林毓森一樣，大溪村112 位貧困戶全部摘掉貧困帽。

靈芝撐開幸福傘

農村要發展，產業是關鍵。“大山就是靠山，發展產業還得靠大山。”2017年9月，大溪村注冊成立宜都裕農生態農業專業合作社，在大溪鱘谷上側及龍洞灣流轉35 畝土地，建設50 個標準大棚，種植羊肚菌。

合作社負責人方秉華介紹，該基地年產羊肚菌干貨300 公斤，年收入約15 萬元。每年為貧困戶人均增加務工收入1.5 萬元，貧困戶每年可參與分紅2 萬元。So far,Daxi Village has planted as many as 12 mu (2 acres) of lingzhi mushrooms,with annual revenue of 800,000 yuan.In addition,e-commerce platforms and live streaming were employed to promote the local agricultural products in order to gain popularity among customers.

Lush mountains and lucid waters are invaluable assets

Characterized by tiny bridges,crystal streams,and serene farmhouses,Daxi Village was listed as a model of beautiful countryside construction in Hubei Province in September 2019.

As we climbed upstream along a gurgling brook,we found ourselves at the Daxi reservoir.On the top of the doublecurved arch dam,we enjoyed the beautiful sight of the green mountains mirrored in the water,with wild birds flitting around and tourists canoeing in the water.“Taking a rest in Daxi Village,the stresses of life just seem to melt away,” praised Wang Bin,a tourist.

“Shimmering waters and luxuriant mountains are invaluable assets to the village.We shouldn’t be asking for a handout with a veritable gold mine at hand,” said Secretary Chen.“We are looking to turn the lush mountains into mountains of wealth.” In the past,transportation difficulties scared off both tourists and investors.But now,with well-built roads and ecological parking lots for private cars and tourist buses,the once isolated village has opened to the world.

The government of Honghuatao Town has launched a program of building an ecological corridor featuring roads sideby-side with forests,houses in harmony with blossoming gardens year-round and festivals every month.By giving full play to the distinctive local geographic advantages,the beautiful natural landscape,and the unique environment of Daxi reservoir and wetlands in its neighboring regions,Daxi Village is committed to providing tourists with comprehensive services combining sightseeing experiences,leisure events,and outdoor activities.

(Translation:Wang Wen)

羊肚菌每年種一季，3月底采收完畢，此后大棚閑置長達8 個月，于是，合作社采購10 萬株靈芝苗試種，獲得成功。

我們來到大棚，一壟壟靈芝長勢正旺，朵朵鑲著金邊，猶如撐開的小傘。技術員鄒圣橋介紹，靈芝每年可采割3 次。除作中藥材入藥外，合作社還發展靈芝盆景種植，提高農特產品附加值。

目前，大溪村靈芝種植面積達12 畝，年收入可達80 萬元。該鎮還通過電商平臺、直播帶貨等形式推廣靈芝產品，拓寬銷路，逐漸打出知名度。

做足山水文章

小橋、流水、農家……2019年9月，大溪村入選湖北省美麗鄉村建設典型示范村名單。

沿著潺潺的小溪回溯，我們來到大溪水庫。站在雙曲拱壩壩頂，萬頃碧波環繞綿綿青山，野鳥戲水，游人泛舟，美不勝收。“來到大溪村，整個人都安靜下來了。”游客王斌贊不絕口。

“綠水青山是村里最大的資本，絕不能端著金飯碗討飯吃，要讓綠水青山變成金山銀山。”陳長紅說，過去，游客進不來，投資商不愿來。如今，大溪村道路四通八達，生態停車場已建成，可供游客自駕車和旅游大巴車停靠。

紅花套鎮提出，結合大溪村獨特地理優勢，以自然山水風光為主色調，利用大溪水庫及流域濕地環境，集休閑游覽、戶外運動于一體，建設一條“路在林中，房在園中，四季有花，月月有彩”的生態走廊。