6 | DISCOVER SHANXI Friday, April 16, 2021 CHINA DAILY New roads make Shanxi visits a tourist’s dream

By the end of 2020, the total length of operational expressways in Shanxi surpassed 5,700 km, covering more than 95 percent of the cities and counties in the province, according to the Shanxi Department of Transpor­ tation. In 2019, the expressways in Shanxi Added highways and served more than 170 million vehicles bus routes playing a and cargo transportation volume sur­ passed 110 million metric tons. key role in shortening As Shanxi is a major tourist desti­ locals’ commutes nation in North China that features many cultural and natural attrac­ tions, a developed road network has By YUAN SHENGGAO offered great convenience to tourists and given a strong impetus to local When a bus rode through the tourism. Xishan Mountains in the west of Ni Hongqiang, a tourist from Tian­ Taiyuan, the capital of North China’s jin, is a frequent visitor to Shanxi Shanxi province, on April 7, because of his love for Shanxi’s cultur­ passengers were pleased at the sight al legacies. of blooming sakura flowers on both “Shanxi has so many cultural and sides of the road. natural attractions, and visitors wor­ “We are delighted to be on a bus ry they won’t have enough time to see bound for the spring,” said passenger everything. Li Changxin, citing a popular quote The Taiyuan­Gujiao expressway has helped to facilitate the integration of Taiyuan and Gujiao by shortening travel time between the two “Sure, the province is large and on the social media. cities by almost an hour. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY has many incredible destinations. The bus, part of the Taiyuan bus But the density of its expressways route 917 fleet, was bound for Gujiao, and highways plus the addition of a city some 55 kilometers west of Tai­ July 2012, when an expressway link­ Taiyuan opened a direct bus service who works as an official in the town­ tourists from Taiyuan on the week­ three major sightseeing roads along yuan. ing the two cities became operation­ to link Gujiao. The 20­bus route 917 ship of Jialequan in Gujiao. ends,” Liu said. the Great Wall in the north, the Yel­ Xi Yuan, the bus driver, was also al, Xi said. He added that the fleet begins its operations at 6:30 am “With a travel time of about half an The mayor said the two cities will low River in the west and south, and relaxed throughout the trip, which distance has been shortened by 23 and ends at 7:30 pm, said Miao Huai­ hour by car, I feel it’s no different from be further integrated during the 14th the Taihang mountains in the east took less than an hour and was most­ km compared with the previous bao, an executive at Taiyuan No 1 Bus working in Taiyuan,” Feng said. Five­Year Plan period (2021­25) as has made an intensive tour of ly on an expressway. road and the traveling time by car Corp. The company operates the 917 Gujiao Mayor Liu said the express­ three new intercity highways have Shanxi possible, especially for self­ “The traffic condition was quite dif­ has been shortened by almost an line. way has offered a strong boost to Guj­ been planned. driving tourists.” ferent from some eight years ago hour. “We serve about 6,000 passengers iao’s economy. The improvement in road connec­ Ni had a self­driving tour of when we had to travel on a zigzagging “The expressway has better inte­ a day on weekdays and about 8,000 “People can buy houses in Gujiao tivity between Taiyuan and Gujiao is Shanxi in October. His six­day trip road hanging on the slopes of the grated Gujiao with Taiyuan and on weekends,” Miao said. and work in Taiyuan, as the housing only one example of the rapid devel­ covered destinations including the mountains,” Xi said. “A trip by car brought new changes to the lives of Taiyuan residents working in Guji­ prices and other costs here are very opment of expressways in Shanxi Yanmen Pass of the Great Wall, the took nearly an hour and a half our residents,” said Liu Jinchun, may­ ao and Gujiao residents working in competitive,” Liu said. province over the past three decades. Yungang Grottoes in Datong, the between the two cities and the travel or of Gujiao. “Our residents can even Taiyuan are perhaps the most excited He added that the tourism indus­ Shanxi’s first expressway, which Wooden Pagoda in Yingxian and the could be much longer in cases of shop in Taiyuan after work and about the new expressway and bus try has greatly benefited from the connects Taiyuan and Pingding coun­ Suspended Temple in Hunyuan. snow, rain and traffic congestion.” return to Gujiao the same night.” service. expedited transportation routes. ty in Hebei province, began construc­ A complete change took place in To further promote the integration, Feng Bing is a Taiyuan resident “We are receiving more self­driving tion in 1993. Wang Pei contributed to this story. Hukou Waterfalls shows Modernized agriculture dazzling power of nature keeps picking up speed

By YUAN SHENGGAO is so named because the waterfall resembles an enormous kettle spout By YUAN SHENGGAO Shanxi’s authorities have When touring the Yellow River, with rushing water pouring down. pinned high hopes on the zone for the mother river of China, there is a The power of the Hukou Waterfalls’ On March 8, Jinzhong High­ modernizing agriculture in destination that visitors should not yellow water is tremendous when Tech Agricultural Demonstration Shanxi. miss. That is the Hukou Waterfalls, a falling down to a pond in the lower Zone in the county of Taigu, Shanxi During his investigation tour of site where people can feel the stream, making it difficult for tourists province, saw the final trial of a the zone, Lou Yangsheng, Party mighty force of the river. to get close to the main waterfall. The Hukou Waterfalls is the most spectacular yellow waterfall in strangely shaped, black­blue col­ secretary of Shanxi province, said Located in an area bordering Looking from a distance, tourists still the world. LIU GUIMING / FOR CHINA DAILY ored farming machine on its improving the level of technolo­ Jixian county in Shanxi province and can enjoy the vast and gorgeous yel­ experimental farm. gies, scale and efficiency is crucial Yichuan county in Shaanxi province, low ocean of mist­covered water. Developed by the Smart Agricul­ for high­quality agricultural devel­ it is the second­biggest waterfall in Smoke from the river, boats on The water in Hukou is very tor­ “In spring when the ice thaws, the tural Machinery and Equipment opment and rural revitalization. China. It is also the most spectacular land and rainbows in the sunshine rential, so the boats from the upper icy stalactites fall into the deep Lab of the Chinese Academy of Sci­ The Party chief said he expects yellow waterfall in the world. are the three spectacular sights of reaches must be pulled out of the pond,” Ren said. “In summer and ences, it is China’s first autono­ more high­tech companies to When the Yellow River flows the Hukou Waterfalls. river and onto the bank when they autumn when there is much rain­ mous­driving, electric farm settle in Jinzhong High­Tech through the gorges that serve as the In Hukou, the water falls to the arrive. These boats will have to fall, the river rushes and the yellow spraying vehicle, with replaceable Agricultural Demonstration Zone, border of Shanxi and Shaanxi prov­ deep pond from a relatively high detour around this section, carried waves seem to reach the sky. batteries. offering strong technological inces, it becomes torrential as its place, stirring the mist which rises by trucks or tractors, before they can “In winter, the Hukou Waterfalls “Because of its automatic bat­ support to Shanxi’s agricultural course is restricted by the gorges high into the air like surging heavy be put in the river again. gives visitors another new look. On tery­replacing technology, the new modernization. and narrows to about 300 meters. smoke coming out of the river. Tourists are usually told that the the surface of the silvery ice water­ farm spraying machine can be as He also called for local agricul­ In Hukou, the water course fur­ Tourists can see various shapes of Hukou Waterfalls is the most gor­ falls, cool water flows down and lit­ much as three times more efficient tural technology companies to ther narrows to about 50 m, falling rainbows formed by the rising mist, geous in summer and autumn when tle silver icicles hang on the cliffs than conventional machines,” said offer training to farmers, helping 30 m into a deep riverbed. The tre­ refracted by the sunshine from dif­ the water volume becomes its larg­ around the waterfalls. It presents a Gao Pengfei, an engineer of the lab. them master the latest technolo­ mendous mass of water strikes the ferent angles. Sometimes the rain­ est of the year. distinctive natural landscape of the According to Gao, research and gies and operational models for rocks, creating piles of foam, a bows are arched, cutting into the However, Ren Jingyun, a tourism northern region of China.” development on the machine agriculture. shroud of mist and a thundering river from the sky, and sometimes official in Jixian county, said the began in July 2020 and trial opera­ Donghui Shijia Agricultural sound that can be heard miles away. they are colored ribbons spreading waterfalls are worth a visit in all sea­ Zhang Zhigang contributed to this tions began in January. Technologies is one of the compa­ Hukou, which means kettle spout, across the river. sons. story. He said mass production of the nies in the demonstration zone machine is scheduled to begin in that highly values such interac­ June. tions with farmers. “The automatic navigation, Its demonstrative smart green­ monitoring, route mapping and houses, which are 5G­connected Historical fortunes return with tourism revenue driving technologies make it possi­ and equipped with various smart ble for the machine to work at technologies, are receiving fre­ By YUAN SHENGGAO A series of promotional events night,” Gao said. “This will lead to a quent visits by farmers in Shanxi. were held for the village, including substantial improvement in effi­ “We have training courses on Life had been quiet in the village posting pictures on social media ciency, which is crucial in large­ar­ site, teaching farmers how to oper­ of Luotuodao in Yuxian county, and taking part in tourism fairs. ea operations requiring a short ate such greenhouses,” said Zhang Shanxi province, since the decline of In 2019, the village was linked to period of time.” Qiangjun, a technician of Donghui the famed Jinshang merchants the newly built Taihang No 1 High­ Established in Jinzhong High­ Shijia. more than a century ago. way, a sightseeing road connecting Tech Agricultural Demonstration Qiao Yaowen is a farmer who Local residents were told about many tourism destinations in the Zone last year, the CAS Smart Agri­ recently installed a greenhouse the glorious past of the village, Taihang Mountains. cultural Machinery and Equip­ supplied by the company. which was an important stop on the At a tourism fair, Luo Jun, a busi­ ment Lab is one of the zone’s latest “It takes only half an hour to irri­ ancient “Northern Tea­Horse Road”, nessman from the Inner Mongolia efforts to drive Shanxi’s agricultur­ gate and fertilize an entire green­ which the Jinshang merchants used autonomous region, showed great al modernization. house, an efficiency we could for their trade overseas. interest in the village. He opened a Known as “the Agricultural Val­ never imagine before,” Zhang said. Shanxi is known for its historical bed­and­breakfast business in the ley” in Shanxi, Jinzhong High­ “And automatic devices ensure commerce that was developed by village in 2019. Tech Agricultural Demonstration that water and fertilizers can be the Shanxi merchants, or Jinshang. The ancient village of Luotuodao has become an emerging tourist “I know well the opportunities in Zone was founded in 2017. It was sprayed evenly, which is better for It is said Jinshang merchants domi­ destination because of its unique history. BAI XUEFENG / FOR CHINA DAILY the village because it is the right approved by the State Council as a crop growth.” nated commercial circles in North place to offer city dwellers a destina­ national­level high­tech agricul­ China for about 500 years from the tion to escape the busy city life and tural zone in November 2019. Wu Jia contributed to this story. Ming Dynasty (1368­1644). The village is home to about 80 But the villagers were not con­ give them a nostalgic experience Many of these successful mer­ households. Back in 2015, there were vinced. with ancient buildings and a history chants started out as small vendors, 21 households registered with impov­ “The houses were so old and shab­ related to the Jinshang merchants,” who traveled on horses or camels to erished families. by that even my family was not hap­ Luo said. regions as far as Russia. Luotuodao, But changes took place that year, py to live in them, needless to say Luo’s investment set an example which means “camel road”, was one with a rural cooperative founded, tourists,” that was what local resi­ for the villagers. They opened more of the logistics hubs in their times. engaging villagers in growing wal­ dent Liang Peizhi, as well as his fel­ catering businesses. The business of Jinshang mer­ nuts. low villagers, thought at that time. Luotuodao has received about chants declined in the late 19th and The village declared all its resi­ Other problems for developing 10,000 visits since 2019, according early 20th centuries due to the dents had been lifted from poverty tourism included poor road connec­ to the village’s Party secretary Ma. development of modern transport. by the end of 2017. tivity, lack of public facilities, and The once suspicious Liang Peizhi Despite the stories they heard, vil­ But local officials were not con­ the fact that it was less known to is now the boss of a family inn. lagers in modern times did not think tent with the achievements. tourists. “I earned a net income of 5,000 their lives would be associated with Ma Wenming, who was appointed Ma was fully aware of the difficul­ yuan ($765) from the inn in 2019 the booming trade activities any­ the Party secretary of the village in ties but was not the kind of person when I began the business,” Liang more. The old village houses, which 2018, was the first to propose devel­ to easily give up. said. “And the figure almost quadru­ stood as witness to the Jinshang busi­ oping a tourism industry that year, He asked for the help of the coun­ pled last year.” ness a century ago, became dilapidat­ capitalizing on Luotuodao’s centu­ ty government, which immediately ed after weathering rains and snows ries­old streets and houses as well as invested in building public facilities Bai Xuefeng contributed China’s first automatic­driving farm spraying vehicle undergoes for more than a century. its unique history. and renovating villagers’ houses. to this story. its final trial in Taigu on March 8. WU JIA / FOR CHINA DAILY

This page is sponsored by the Shanxi provincial government.