Villagers use natural resources to carve a prosperous path

In January, Wu Zhuhua, a villager from Gangbei village in Jiang'an county, Jiangxi province, was elated when he counted his income for 2023.

Last year, he earned over 300,000 yuan ($41,300), "nearly 50,000 yuan more than expected," Wu Zhuhua said.

He earned 200,000 yuan by running a farmstay, over 40,000 yuan from beekeeping with 40 hives, as well as more than 4,000 yuan a month working for a local tourism company.

This level of income would have been unimaginable 10 years ago when the village was impoverished.

Gangbei, adjacent to the Jiuling Mountain range, has a forest area of 50,000 mu and a forest coverage rate of 95.7 percent.

To the villagers, the forest was an inexhaustible treasure trove. They cut down trees to earn more money. In the 1990s, every household was rich.

"The villagers cut trees day and night at that time. Everyone was just focused on making money and no one thought about the environment and the future of their home," said Bao Xunlong, the former village Party branch secretary.

Logs were transported from Gangbei village along the Beiliao River to other places, filling the villagers' pockets.

But within a few years, problems started to surface. The forest resources declined rapidly, the once rich green mountains turned barren, and soil erosion was severe.

In 2005, as China emphasized ecological protection and with the forest resources dwindling, Jing'an county became the first in the province to implement a total ban on logging trees.

Young people began to leave the village to find work elsewhere, leaving older people behind. The once bustling place turned into a "hollow village".

By 2015, the per capita annual income in Gangbei village was only 2,600 yuan. It became an impoverished village.

"At that time, the local government started to reflect and look for ways to help the villagers earn more money. We realized that our advantage was our ecological environment. To become prosperous, we had to rely on the mountains, rivers, and forests," said Wu Zhulin, the village Party branch secretary.

The local government allocated 23,000 yuan to help villagers raise bees. Now, the village has over 1,200 beehives, increasing villagers' income by more than 850 yuan per person.

The Beiliao River runs through the village, and its clean water is suitable for breeding spiny frogs. The village built a 450-square-meter breeding base with over 15,000 froglets, achieving an annual sales income of 25,000 yuan in 2022 and a net profit of 12,000 yuan.

This helped 15 impoverished households increase their income by 5,000 yuan each. In 2017, Gangbei Village was lifted out of poverty.

Bao Ximeng, a villager who had long been investing and doing business abroad, returned to the village in 2020 to develop the tourism industry.

His resort town officially opened in August 2023. In just four months, bamboo rafting attracted 40,000 tourists, generated 400,000 yuan in tourism income, and created jobs for 104 local and nearby villagers.

Gangbei village also encourages villagers such as Wu Zhuhua to run farmstays.

During peak times, his farmstay can accommodate up to dozens of guests. To expand his business, he plans to renovate several rooms on the second floor of his home into guest rooms.

"Our environment has improved. In the first five months of this year, we've already attracted over 50,000 tourists from nearby areas and places such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangxi," said Wu Zhulin.

"With tourism development, villagers can also make money by selling vegetables and chicken and duck eggs. Everyone now lives a better life and every household has a car," he said.