Shanxi Employs Variety of Tactics for Rural Revitalization

20 | DISCOVER SHANXI Friday, June 4, 2021 CHINA DAILY Public brand marketing plan builds recognition By Yuan Shenggao of the locals’ enterprising spirit.” The Golden Ox brand highlights To enhance market recognition such agricultural products as hazel- of local products, many regions in nut, sea buckthorn fruit and medi- North China’s Shanxi province cal herbs. have invented an innovative mar- A trade fair was also held during keting strategy called “public the public brand’s release. Agree- brands”. ments were signed for product A public brand is similar to geo- transactions with a combined value graphical indication — and GI itself of 21.5 million yuan ($3.36 million). also falls into the public brand cate- At the 12th Expo Central China gory — but not limited to a certain held in Taiyuan from May 21-23, the variety of products, according to Golden Ox-branded products local officials. attracted much attention from visi- In recent years, Shanxi has pro- tors. moted seven provincial public Gujiao is not the first city in brands for its products like millet, Shanxi to release cross-industry herbal tea and matured vinegar. public brands. “Such provincial-level public In September 2020, the city of brands are mostly related to agri- Linfen in southern Shanxi released cultural products,” a local official its “Linfen Quality” public brand, said. “They are of great significance which covers more than 40 prod- to rural revitalization.” ucts in agriculture and tourism On May 18, the city of Gujiao industries. Women work at an embroidery factory in Xiyang county, Shanxi province. The traditional handicraft industry is now an important force to released its public brand Golden Ox Boosted by the branding strate- drive growth in rural Shanxi. Li Zhaomin / For China Daily to cover more than 30 products in gy, Linfen realized online sales of eight categories. 113 million yuan and offline sales of “With its coverage of various 430 million yuan last year for its industries, the public brand of high-quality agricultural products. Golden Ox marked a breakthrough Shanxi aims to use the public in local marketing strategy,” said brands to promote rural revitaliza- Shanxi employs variety of Liu Jinchun, mayor of Gujiao. tion. He said the public brand is It released four provincial pub- inspired by the local traditional cul- lic brands for such products as ture. cereals, medical herbs and fruits in “Gujiao is called the Golden Ox 2020. In addition, another 11 pub- tactics for rural revitalization City in honor of a legend of an ox lic brands were launched by vari- who moved a mountain to facilitate ous cities in Shanxi. transportation for the region,” Liu op Yanmen Embroidery into a local help with poverty alleviation and Zan Xiaoguo, 59, is one of the said. “And the Golden Ox is a symbol Wu Jia contributed to this story. industry. rural revitalization. farmers working in the greenhouses. An enthusiast and master of Yan- During a May 25 conference that “Compared with grain farming, men Embroidery, Gao’s initial goal summarized Shanxi’s experiences in vegetables in greenhouses can be was to protect the centuries-old poverty reduction and promoting planted and harvested throughout intangible cultural heritage and pass rural revitalization, officials said the the year,” Zan said. “It means my it down to future generations. She province has achieved success over family can have a stable monthly did this by sharing her skills with the the eight years since the overall cam- income of more than 2,000 yuan.” Developing hallmark younger women in her neighbor- paign for poverty reduction was But this is not the only source of hood. launched. revenue, Zan said. “We are paid land industries, relocating She later found their embroidery They said all of Shanxi’s 3.29 mil- rental on an annual basis and some people to better areas was so sought-after by customers lion impoverished people, 58 impov- members of my family work at near- that she decided to start her own erished counties and 7,993 by factories.” and modernizing business — the embroidery studio impoverished villages have been lift- There are a number of factories farming key moves that Li Fentuan works for. ed from their poverty status. and plants in the neighborhood, Thanks to the efforts of inheritors The achievement was made offering a variety of jobs to residents. The city of Gujiao releases its public brand of Golden Ox on May like Gao, Yanmen Embroidery was thanks to the province’s targeted “As the factories were established 18. Wu Liuhong / For China Daily By Yuan Shenggao included on the provincial list of poverty-reduction measures. They for the purpose of poverty reduction, intangible cultural heritage in 2007. included developing industries with residents from low-income families Li Fentuan, a woman in Daixian, a Products made by the studio have local characteristics, relocating resi- are a priority in their recruitment,” a county of Xinzhou city in Shanxi been sold throughout the country dents to places with better living local official said. province, now sees her embroidery and the world. conditions and organizing vocation- As Shanxi made a success in its Village attracts tourists work as more enjoyable. Gao’s studio has also offered train- al training, as well as improving poverty-reduction work, it is shifting The trade, which she has been ing to more than 6,000 people from healthcare, education and the rural emphasis to rural revitalization. engaged in for about two decades, Daixian and the rest of China. living environment. The May 25 conference also with mystery and myth has earned her a decent livelihood. Zhengxiashe village in Ekou town- In many parts of Shanxi, local announced the establishment of a The revenue helped her support a ship, where the studio is located, is authorities have combined some of new organization, the Shanxi Rural By Yuan Shenggao Most of the houses are two- to family, escape poverty and move to a among the greatest beneficiaries the targeted measures into a pack- Revitalization Bureau, to take the three-storied stone structures. The new, spacious apartment in the from the industry. age, offering an integrated solution place of the Shanxi Poverty Reduc- Among the many ancient villages upper stories are built on the arch- county seat. “Boosted by the embroidery for poverty reduction. tion Office. in Shanxi, Dachang at the heart of gated cave houses dug out of the The county seat is about 20 kilo- industry, our village was removed In Gucheng township, Yanggao “We have made historic achieve- the Taihang Mountains is unique in slope. All the roads in the village are meters from the famed Great Wall from the poverty list in 2016,” said county, a huge expanse of green- ments in poverty reduction. Howev- attracting tourists interested in his- paved with stone slabs. pass of Yanmen. As such, the local Tian Zhong, Party secretary of the houses have been built near new set- er, we will never put an end to our tory, architecture and mythology. Han said the most mysterious craft is known as Yanmen Embroi- village. tlements that host 959 relocated efforts in improving the livelihoods Located in the north of Yuxian thing in the village is that one of the dery throughout China. He noted that while it offers jobs households. of people in rural Shanxi,” a senior county, the village consists of more statues in the Mountain Gods’ Tem- It has been a historical tradition to women, the embroidery studio The greenhouses, built on land provincial official said at the confer- than 50 courtyards with about 500 ple changes weight at different that women in Daixian are encour- has held training courses and helped rented from these households, were ence. rooms. times of the day. aged to master skills in folk crafts to sell products made by local peo- jointly developed by the Yanggao He said Shanxi’s plans for rural Regarding the history of village, “Weighing it in the morning and such as embroidery and paper-cut- ple. county government and Datong- revitalization will include modern- some say it is about 1,500 years old in the afternoon, there is a differ- ting. It is said such skills are related “In 2016, the embroidery industry based agricultural company Fangu izing agriculture, developing char- and the oldest village in Yuxian. ence of 2-3 kilograms,” Han said. to their happiness after marriage. brought a per capita revenue of Guizhen. acteristic industries, promoting Han Guoyin, head of the villagers’ “This is something we cannot But it wasn’t until the late 1990s 80,000 yuan ($12,700) to the people According to a new county policy, rural-urban integration, protecting committee, however, likes to talk explain.” that such crafts developed into involved,” Tian said. every household there is assigned the environment and improving about material evidence. The population of the village industries with local characteristics. The embroidery industry in one greenhouse, taking charge of the rural governance. “Han is the only family name of reached its peak of nearly 350 in the Gao Fenglan, a retired female offi- Daixian is just one example of how farming and harvesting of vegeta- the village,” said the official. “Judg- early 1980s. However, it has become cial, was one of the pioneers to devel- Shanxi has used various means to bles and fruit. Xue Lin contributed to this story. ing from our family history book, quieter in recent years as many peo- the history of the Han family in ple moved to other places to work or Dachang should be about 300 years, live. since our founding ancestor Han In 2019, there were only 13 per- Chongming came to settle in the manent residents in Dachang, with Datong becomes center for frontier tech research early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).” an average age of 70, according to But this was not the beginning of Han.

Load more