我看葛家村變遷

智其

共同富裕的另一面是貧富兩極分化，而今貧富之間不斷拉大的差距已成為一個全球性問題。近幾年來，中國的中長期發展理念發生了五次轉變。其中包括：從追求增長率到更強調社會保障，從追求高效率到更強調公平，從倡導部分先富到強調共同富裕，從注重資本到更注重勞動力，從偏重房地產和金融業到更強調科學技術和制造業。這些調整為實現共同富裕奠定了堅實基礎。我來自土耳其的一線城市布爾薩市，在寧波生活了近十年。只是用我的雙眼，我就可以清楚地看到中國發生的巨大變化。新的建筑、新的道路和高速公路、新的地鐵線、更干凈的環境……這些都是非常直觀的體現。浙江開啟高質量發展建設共同示范區后，我能感覺到人們的精神也在富裕起來。

大學畢業后，我開始為一家在福布斯500強中排名第20位的公司工作，在阿曼擔任項目主管，并領導一個跨國小隊。后來，我收到了寧波一家外企的工作邀約，我沒有絲毫猶豫，欣然接受了這份新工作。我認為這將是一個讓我更深入了解中國文化和嘗試新事物的好機會。2013年2月，我的中國之旅就這樣開始了。

多年來在這家公司供應鏈的不同崗位上工作，讓我積累了與世界上最大的能源、石油和天然氣公司合作的經驗。在“一帶一路”倡議框架下，寧波與中東歐國家已成為重要合作伙伴。看到這個機會，我決定參與雙邊貿易，并利用我的農業專業，通過我的家族與匈牙利、捷克共和國和保加利亞的政府之間的密切關系，將農產品進口到寧波，利用我在中國的采購經驗，向這些國家推廣更高檔次、更高標準的寧波產品。來到中國八年后，我于2021年在寧波創辦了自己的公司。

在業余時間，我經常在浙江的農村地區進行短途旅行，看看美麗的風景，并試圖了解更多的當地文化，寧海葛家村就是其中之一。幾年前，我曾經游覽過這個村莊，那時候的印象是居民大多是老年人。去年我又去了葛家村，那里已經發生了令人印象深刻的變化。

很難想象中國農村的日常生活被創意藝術畫廊、用貝殼裝飾的手工盆景和各種木制手工藝品所包圍。當被問及你眼中的藝術是什么時，“誰一開始就知道藝術是什么呢？”葛家村的幾位居民笑著說。這個村莊的歷史可以追溯到1000多年前，現在居住著1600名村民，距離最近的城市中心約26公里。

這里缺乏有特色的農產品或企業來支撐當地經濟。大多數年輕人離開村莊去尋找工作，留下不少老年人。村民們告訴我，2019年4月，當中國人民大學藝術學院副教授叢志強第一次來到這個隱藏在山谷中不起眼的村莊時，沒有人相信他能通過“藝術”致富，有些人甚至說他是騙子。叢教授第一天上課的時候，只有20多個村民來聽課，下課時只剩下6個人。

后來，為了吸引更多的村莊參與改造，他的團隊和一些村民用竹子和石頭等廉價材料做了一把椅子，并把它裝飾得五顏六色，還建了一個供孩子們娛樂的公共空間。很多村民很快意識到這一變化將要改善他們的生活，而一系列藝術裝置也改變了他們的想法。“這是藝術？這么容易嗎？我也能做到?！币粋€接一個，不少居民都開始嘗試。

變化確實很快就來了。在第一輪改造中，全村花費5萬多元用于購買材料和雇傭勞動力。為了降低成本，一個普通的水箱被一分為二，形成了裝置的基礎，一塊廢棄的門板被重新噴漆并附在設計上，一張獨特的桌子就這樣做成了。第一件作品引發了對更多物品的創作，大多數裝飾品都是由廢棄材料制成的。當然，最讓村民們驚訝的是，通過清理村莊，通過創造有趣的藝術作品，他們獲得了更高的收入。

55歲的村民袁小仙（音譯）發現自己很有色彩天賦。在叢教授的鼓勵下，經過大約一周的學習，袁小仙就能夠制作一些布料玩具，比如十二生肖動物，現在網上售價從30元到200多元不等。她的手工藝品也在縣里的快遞站出售，那里經常接待經過該地區的游客。

投入了相應的時間和精力，袁小仙2020年的收入達到了15萬元，相比2018年4萬元的年收入差不多翻了4倍。在更高收入的激勵下，更多的村民加入到“通過藝術共同富?！钡呐χ衼?，有些年輕人甚至開始回村創業。“80后”葛品高（音譯）就是其中之一。他于2019年8月通過裝修奶奶的老房子，把它改造成一個真正的酒吧，吸引游客來喝點小酒、吃點燒烤、聊點小天。2020年，酒吧營收達到15萬元，預計今年將達到20萬元。

29歲的張有利（音譯）是今年剛從城里返回村里的。“村里的變化給我留下了深刻的印象，我希望能有更多的時間和家人在一起?！彼f道。她曾在一家美容院工作，現在她可以自主地出售自己的木制手工藝品。

在中國的其他一些村莊，當地政府聘請的藝術家和規劃師向村民介紹藝術項目，但當地居民往往不能認同藝術的價值。與此不同的是，葛家村很好地解決了這個問題。在認識了什么是藝術后，葛家村村民自己設計、自己制作藝術類產品，我認為這是成功背后最重要的因素。

浙江正以高質量發展為重點，謀劃到2025年推動示范區建設取得明顯的實質性進展。在村民眼中，共同富裕不僅意味著物質上的富足，更意味著精神上的富有?！邦^腦富有，口袋富足”，葛家村許多村民從藝術中尋求快樂——大多數村民已經過了退休年齡，有時也會感到孤獨。全村目前有138名藝術家，他們從2019年開始就參與到用藝術改造葛家村社區的工作中。

重要的是，要讓村民們看到藝術如何能夠幫助他們賺錢，以此激勵他們。精神上的充實也會給他們帶來信心。一個更干凈、更美觀的村莊，加上專業旅游公司的運作，將帶來更多的游客，增加村民的收入。2021年，浙江省農村居民人均可支配收入35247元，連續37年居全國首位。根據當地統計局的數據，寧海縣農村居民人均可支配收入在2020年達到36166元，過去五年的平均增長率為8.3%。

葛家村村民還向貴州省一些發展較為落后的村莊分享了他們的經驗。不到半天，當地村民就賣出了價值5萬元左右的手工藝品?！拔覀兏涣?，還要幫助別人一起富。”葛家村的村民說道。對我來說，這就是共同富裕。

在我看來，這些小步驟已經為一個雄心勃勃的長期愿景奠定了堅實基礎。隨著葛家村的成功，說服周圍的其他村莊就容易多了。然而，應該避免同質化，畢竟你不能總是復制一件藝術作品。每個村莊都應該根據自己的特點進行改造。附近的漲坑村旨在將自己改造成一個功夫主題村，游客可以在這里體驗功夫藝術和文化，而附近的毛洋村則旨在變成一個愛情主題藝術村，以吸引更多游客。

The opposite side of common prosperity is the polarization between the rich and the poor， which has become a global problem. In recent years， five shifts have taken place in China’s mid-and long-term development philosophy. These include the shift from growth rate to social security， from efficiency to fairness， from early prosperity for some to common prosperity， from capital to labor， and from real estate and finance to science， technology and manufacturing.

These changes have laid a solid foundation for moving to the next target — realizing common prosperity.

Coming from Bursa， Turkey， I lhave lived in Ningbo for almost a decade now. With my eyes， I can see the massive physical development crystal clear. New buildings， new roads， highways， metro lines， cleaner environment and so on. After Zhejiang was announced as the pilot zone for common prosperity， I can feel people’s minds are getting rich as well; it is obvious that people already spiritually engaged.

After graduation from university， I started working for a company ranked 20th on Forbes 500. In Oman， I served as a project supervisor and supervised a multinational team. Afterwards I received an offer from a foreign enterprise in Ningbo. I didn’t hesitate even a minute. I was thinking this would be a nice opportunity to know Chinese culture and try new things. That’s how my China journey started in February 2013.

Years working in different roles within the supply chain of the company gave me the experience working with the world largest companies within energy and oil & gas sectors.

Under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative， Ningbo and the CEEC have become important partners. Seeing the opportunity， I had decided to get involved in promoting high-grade， high-standard agricultural products from Ningbo to Hungary， Czech Republic and Bulgaria and importing products from these countries to Ningbo， using my academic knowledge in agriculture， along with the strong relationships with authorities in these countries through my family connections in the region and my procurement experience in China. Eight years after arriving in China， I started my own company in Ningbo in 2021.

In my free time I often take short trips in Zhejiang’s rural areas to see nice sceneries and try to know more of local culture. Gejia village in Ninghai is one of them.

Several years ago， I visited the village， where the residents are mostly elder people. There is no any business opportunity for them. Last year I took another trip to Gejia village and I was greeted with an impressive change.

It's hard to imagine rural Chinese villages’ daily lives surrounded by creative art galleries， hand-made miniascape decorated with seashells， and various handcrafts made of wood.

When asked what is art in your eyes， “who knows what art was at the beginning？” giggled several residents of Gejia village in Ninghai county， Ningbo city. The village， with a history stretching back over 1，000 years and now home to 1，600 villagers， is about 26 kilometers away from the nearest urban center.

It was suffering from a lack of distinctive agricultural products or businesses to support the local economy. Most young people left the village in search of employment， leaving elderly residents behind to run things.

They told me that in April 2019， when Cong Zhiqiang， associate professor at the School of Art from Renmin University of China first came to this unremarkable village hidden in a mountain valley， nobody trusted him and even called him a “liar”. Only just over 20 villagers came to listen to Cong’s class on the first day， and only six remained when the class ended.

Later on， in order to attract more villagers to participate in the transformation， his team， together with some villagers， built a chair using bamboo and stones — all cheap materials， and decorated it colorfully/ They also opened up a public space for children to engage in recreational activities.

They quickly realized the change would improve our lives. A series of artistic installations changed their mindset. “This is art？ Is it so easy？ I can do it too，” and one by one they started to give it a try.

Changes quickly began. In the first round of transformation， the whole village spent over 50，000 yuan （$7，858） to buy materials and hire labor. In order to reduce costs， a common water tank was split in two to form the base of the installation， an abandoned door panel was repainted and attached to the design， and a unique table was thus made. The first piece sparked the creation of several more items， and most of the decorations were made from discardable materials.

What surprised the villagers the most was that cleaning up the village and creating interesting pieces of art brought them a higher income.

Yuan Xiaoxian， a 55-year-old villager， discovered that she had a talent for color. Encouraged by professor Cong， Yuan was able to make cloth toys， such as 12 Chinese zodiac animals， which are now sold online priced from 30 yuan to over 200 yuan， after learning for about one week. Her products are also sold in the county courier station， which often hosts tourists passing through the region.

With time and effort， Yuan’s income in 2020 reached 150，000 yuan， almost quadrupling her annual income was in 2018， which is only 40，000 yuan.

Incentivized by a higher income， more villagers joined in. Even some young people began to return to start their own businesses.

Ge Pin’gao， a man born after 1980， is one example. He opened a small bar in August 2019 by decorating and transforming his grandma’s old house， attracting visitors to enjoy drinks， barbeque and some chatting. In 2020， the bar’s revenue reached 150，000 yuan， and it is expected to reach 200，000 yuan this year.

Zhang Youli， a 29-year-old local villager， came back from the city this year. “The transformation in the village impressed me and I hope to spend more time with my family，” said Zhang. She used to work in a beauty salon， but now she is selling her own handcraft products made of wood at her own pace.

Unlike a number of other villages in China， where artists and planners hired by local governments introduced art projects to villagers but local residents failed to embrace the value of art， Gejia village could work it out. After being educated on what art is， Gejia villagers have designed and produced art products by themselves， and that， in my opinion， is the most important factor behind the success.

Zhejiang is building itself into a pilot zone for common prosperity by 2025 with a focus on high-quality development. In the villagers’ eyes， common prosperity means not only material wealth， but also spiritual engagement.

“Mind rich， pocket rich.” Many villagers are seeking happiness from embracing art as most of them have retired and sometimes feel lonely. The whole village currently has 138 artists who have participated in the transformation of the community using art since 2019.

It’s important to give villagers a vision of how art can help them make money as a way to motivate them. Spiritual enrichment will also bring them confidence. A cleaner and more aesthetic village， along with help from professional tourism firms， will bring more tourists and boost villagers’ income.

Zhejiang’s rural residents’ average disposable income was 35，247 yuan in 2021， the highest among China’s provinces for the 37th year in a row. For Ninghai county alone， its rural residents' average disposable income reached 36，166 yuan in 2020， with the average growth rate at 8.3 percent in past five years， according to the local statistics bureau.

Gejia village residents have shared their experiences with underdeveloped village in Southwest China’s Guizhou province. The local villagers have sold their hand-made crafts worth around 50，000 yuan in less than half-a-day. “If we become rich， we will help others to become rich together，” one villager said. To me， that’s common prosperity.

In my eyes， these small steps have set a ball in motion for an ambitious long-term vision. Following Gejia’s success， it’s much easier to convince other villages around. However， homogenization should be avoided. After all， you can’t always copy an art work. Each village should be transformed based on their own characteristic.

Zhangkeng village， which is nearby， is aimed at establishing itself as a Kungfu-themed village， where visitors can experience the Kungfu culture， while another village Maoyang aims to become a wedding-themed village to attract more visitors.