Green mountains a moneymaker

In January, Wu Zhuhua, a villager from Gangbei village in Jiangxi province, was happily surprised when he calculated his income for the previous year.

He had earned 200,000 yuan ($27,500) by running a farmstay, over 40,000 yuan from beekeeping with 40 hives, and more than 4,000 yuan a month working for a local tourism company.

That level of income would have been unimaginable before the village adopted the ecological concept of "green mountains are gold mountains".

Gangbei, adjacent to the Jiuling Mountain range, has a forest area of 3,300 hectares and a forest coverage rate of 95.7 percent.

To the villagers, the forest had been an inexhaustible treasure trove. They cut down trees to earn more money, and 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 with money.

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, Jing'an county, where Gangbei village is situated, became the first in the province to introduce a ban on logging.

Young people believed that banning logging meant losing their means of income, and as a result they left to find work elsewhere, leaving older people behind.

By 2015, Gangbei village's collective income was minimal, and the per capita annual income was only 2,600 yuan.

However, it was proved in later years that income and ecological protection can coexist harmoniously.

From that time, towns and villages in China, including Jing'an, began to practice a sustainable development concept: protecting the environment is to develop the economy well, not to sacrifice long-term interests for short-term gains.

"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 annual sales of 25,000 yuan in 2022 and a net profit of 12,000 yuan.

The industry helped 15 impoverished households increase their incomes. 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 its tourism industry.

His resort town officially opened in August last year. 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 like Wu Zhuhua to run farmstays.

During peak times, his farmstay can accommodate 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 like 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."