Chapter Six One Village, One Scene Beautiful Village Construction in Qichun

Dawu Happy New Village of Qingshi Town青石鎮大屋幸福新村

During the misty spring in March, Qichun is providing its visitors with impeccable landscape.

On April 23, more than one hundred tourists from both inside and outside of Hubei Province went sightseeing in Tangchong Village and Huzhigao Village of Liuhe Town, Qichun County.Here, all of the houses are painted with creamy white walls and leafy dark green roofs. The whole village is sprinkled with milky green bamboo far into the emerald mountains. Bamboo pavilions, comfortable stools,bluestone trails, stone flowerbeds,bridges, and vibrant flowers echo the natural serenity of the mountain throughout the village.

“The emerald mountains from afar and the green village nearby seem out of painter’s brush. The slopes, mountains and villages are dotted with the enduring beauty of the green bamboo branch.” The picturesque village scenery deeply impressed or even aroused the nostalgia among the visitors.

Each Village Is a Unique Beauty

A Turkish poet once said, “In one’s life, there are two things that are unforgettable: one is his mother’s face, the other is his town’s image.” So the intricate details of our cities, villages and even streets perhaps remain with us for the entirety of our lives.

Inspired by this, Qichun County insists on a policy of“top-level designing, whole-area planning, foregrounding the town features and integrating urban and rural development” on the road to building new countryside that will embellish its people with lifelong pride for their home.

Qichun County has invested nearly 10 million yuan to formulate all-encompassing ideas that cooperate with top domestic planning and design institutes from Jiangsu and Shenzhen, and made sure that every construction project is well designed.

煙花三月，美麗蘄春。

不負春光好時節，品味鄉村獲得感。4月23日，逾百名省內外游客徜徉在蘄春縣劉河鎮湯沖村、胡志高村。這里民居小屋白墻黛瓦，竹林青翠遍植山塆，竹亭竹廊竹牌坊竹椅凳點綴其間。還有那青石小徑、石砌花圃、小橋流水、柳暗花明，好一幅“遠黛近墨皆入畫，半山半竹半坡村”的鄉村美景圖。

不少游客感嘆：望得見山，看得見水，記得住鄉愁。

胸有丘壑村村垸垸精細描眉

土耳其詩人納喬姆說：“人的一生有兩樣東西是永遠不會忘記的，這就是母親的臉龐和家鄉的面貌。”一座城市、一個村莊、一條街道，往往都有自己的歷史和故事。

秉承這一理念，蘄春縣堅持高起點規劃，突出全域謀劃，彰顯城市設計，引領城鄉統籌發展。

蘄春縣投入近千萬元，與江蘇、深圳等國內頂級規劃設計單位合作，全方位編制規劃,真正做到“不在沒有規劃的地方搞建設、不搞沒有規劃的建設。”

村莊規劃猶如女子化妝描眉，需要根據不同臉型選擇不同的眉型，然后施以或挑或勾或勻的筆法，精雕細琢，達到“淡妝濃抹總相宜”的美。蘄春以精細規劃,引領美麗鄉村建設。不搞一刀切，不大拆大建，杜絕千村一面，更多地關注地域特色和文化個性，打造“一村一品、一村一韻、一村一業、一村一景”各具風格、各有風情的美麗鄉村。

兩年來，以蘄太線、沿江線、大別山紅色旅游線為主線，蘄春大地雨后春筍般地涌現出以“石文化”為特色的劉河鎮胡志高村，以“竹文化”為看點的劉河湯沖村，以“農耕文化”為名片的青石鎮高溪村等一批美麗鄉村示范村。

云端梯田霧云山村、漁村唱晚雨湖社區、美麗花海龍泉庵村、山鄉紫薇雷祠堂村、李山問茶李山村、夢里水鄉陳賽大隊、牡丹小鎮徐亮村、驛路古道車門村、城區后花園飛躍村、扶貧新村大屋村等，形成了以點為基、串點成線、連線成片，全縣全域化分類分層建設美麗鄉村的競相發展新格局。

內外兼修家家戶戶柳綠花紅

在外務工的胡志高村村民胡勝藍夫妻倆，專程從廣東趕回來，邀請幾個相好的鄉親，幫他們從河里撿回兩車鵝卵石，動手在家門口新建了一個花壇。胡勝藍說：“家家戶戶栽花種草，很漂亮，我家也不能因為我長年在外而落后。”

The new look presented by a tea garden茶鄉新貌

圍繞“望得見山野、聽得見鄉音、聞得見鄉味、摸得到鄉趣、記得住鄉愁”，蘄春縣在高昂“龍頭”夯實城鎮發展的同時，舞活“龍身”展現鄉村美麗風采。

Consider village planning as a woman’s eyebrow make-up.Just as it is necessary to choose different types according to different faces, and then employ meticulous craftsmanship to achieve the beauty of an integrated whole, Qichun made a careful plan to achieve attractive rural construction. It does not engage in a one-size-fits-all approach, or blindly demolish and construct. Instead of making all villages look the same, it pays special attention to both geographical features and cultural values of individual villages so that each village thereby preserves its unique cultural characteristics and natural aesthetics.

In the past two years, with the Dabie Mountains Red Tour Line,the Qichun-Taihu Line and the Riverside Line as the main lines,many such villages blossomed in Qichun. They are distinctive with unique features such as the “stone culture” of Hu Zhigao Village, the“bamboo culture” of Tangchong in Liuhe Town, and the “farming culture” of Gaoxi in Qingshi Town.

There’re the ethereal cloud terraces in Wuyunshan Village,the hearty melody of folk fishing songs in Yuhu Community, the vast flower seas in Longquan’an Village, the beautiful crape myrtle flowers in the mountainous village Leicitang, the aroma of Lishan tea, the dream-like water village Chensai Dadui, the “Peony Town”Xuliang Village, the ancient post road in Chemen Village, and all have formed a point-based compendium connecting the lines into a composite picture.These efforts demonstrate fully the county’s rural development pattern which classifies and develops villages throughout the region in different levels.

A foreign “groom” at a folk festival 民俗節上的“洋女婿”

Every Cottage Is Full of Color

Hu Shenglan and his wife, a couple from Hu Zhigao Village,came back from Guangdong Province and invited a few good neighbors to help them pick up two truckloads of pebbles from the river. A rich flower bed framed with smooth pebbles was then laid on the doorstep of his house,a typical scene in there in the village. Hu Shenglan said: “Every family grows flowers and plants which look so beautiful! My family shouldn’t be left behind just because we are working outside.”

Jiukesong New Village 小康新村九棵松

全縣強力關停所有石材企業，否決高耗能、高污染項目58個。大力推進綠色鄉村、綠色通道、綠色庭院創建，全縣共完成植樹造林30萬畝，森林覆蓋率達到39.2%。

在房前屋后栽花種草，在空地岔道見縫插綠，以生態裝扮鄉村。把十里八鄉農戶家的石磨收集回來，鋪成石板路；以竹子為材料做亭臺樓閣，軒榭廊舫；把稻谷、玉米、花生、辣椒、芝麻、黃豆等五谷雜糧巧妙地設計成村莊景點或者農家小屋的點綴，以特色點亮村莊。用村民的照片做成笑臉墻，打造名人榜、文化長廊，以文明鄉風育人。

立足“農業強、農村美、農民富”，蘄春縣創新投融資機制，整合項目資金，全面打通美麗鄉村建設“最后一公里”,統籌1500萬元資金投入美麗鄉村。縣、鎮、村三級通過各種渠道，投入美麗鄉村建設資金約6000萬元。

鼓勵社會資本積極參與美麗鄉村建設。

從環境保護、生態修復，到培育生態文明意識，追求綠色生活方式，蘄春堅持外修生態、內修人文，通過挖掘生態特色、文化特色，打造出石文化、竹文化、農耕文化、陶藝文化、艾草文化、花海文化、水鄉漁村文化、茶文化等一批一村一韻、一處一景的美麗鄉村。

Beautiful Chenyun Village 美麗陳云村

產村相融幸福家園處處和諧

建設文明富裕新農村，要有一個好產業做基礎。

赤東鎮徐亮村以“牡丹小鎮”為主題，依托蘄春“藥”文化、赤龍湖國家濕地公園等資源優勢，打造融種養、養生、科研加工、觀光休閑、體驗式娛樂為一體的現代農業生態村莊。

這只是蘄春美麗鄉村、美麗蘄春建設的一個縮影。蘄春已成功創建省級園林城、衛生城、文明城；蘄州、橫車、劉河成為全國重點鎮；九棵松成為全國文明村，李山等43個村成為全省宜居村莊；棠樹嶺等10個村成為全省新農村建設示范村；湯沖等10個村成為全省美麗鄉村示范村。

“美麗鄉村要厚植‘綠水青山就是金山銀山’的綠色發展理念，重點在產城一體、產村一體上做文章，讓農民得到實惠，求得發展，實現‘美麗鄉村’從‘外在美’到‘內在美’的深刻蝶變。”黃岡市委常委、蘄春縣委書記趙少蓮說。

In the whole-area rural construction, Qichun is making the scenery, sound, smell, fun and the sentiments of nostalgia of the villages approachable, and trying to display their rural beauty while strengthening the development of the urban regions.

In an effort to promote the cultivation of green villages, green corridors, and green courtyards,the county has shut down all the stone companies and rejected 58 high-energy-consuming and high-pollution projects. Up to now, the county has completed the reforestation of 300,000 mu(20,000 hectares) of land, and the forest coverage rate has reached 39.2%.

After planting trees, flowers and grasses all around houses,lush natural colors can be seen at every curious turn of the head.People gather the stone mills from the neighborhood to repair roads;bamboo is used for pavilions and corridors; and rice, corn, peanuts,peppers, sesame, and soy grains are used as icing on the cake for farmers’ homes. These efforts bring subtle, defining beauty to the villages. The villagers have also created celebrity lists and cultural promenades by using photos of the villagers on the wall to create a smiling face collage.

Based on the strategy of fostering “strong agriculture,rural beauty, and rich farmers,”Qichun County innovated the investment and financing mechanism by integrating project funds, fully opening up the “last mile” of rural construction, and allocating 15 million yuan of funds to build the exquisite countryside.The county, township, and village governments have invested about 60 million yuan to beautify villages through various channels.

Social investments are also encouraged in Qichun’s rural construction.

From environmental protection and ecological restoration to cultivating awareness of how to live in an ecological civilization that pursues a green lifestyle,Qichun insists on both ecological and cultural development.Through excavation of its ecological and cultural features,Qichun has fostered a number of villages unique not just in its beautiful scenery but also in its stone culture, bamboo culture,farming culture, pottery culture,mugwort culture, flower culture,fishing culture or tea culture, etc.

蘄春推動美麗鄉村與現代農業、醫藥、養生、文化、旅游、物流等一二三產業深度融合。2017年，全縣中藥材種植面積超過35萬畝，其中蘄艾產值達到30億元。醫藥企業達到395家，產值66.8億元，成為全省重點產業集群。

與此同時，成功舉辦全國山地自行車賽等國家級賽事、李時珍蘄艾健康文化節等重大節會和美麗湯沖文化節等30多個鄉村節會，發展農家樂472家，旅游綜合收入突破22.6億元。

劉河美麗鄉村示范片節假日游客達到3000多人，一戶小農家樂一中午就接待了28桌游客，中央電視臺前年大年三十還到劉河湯沖直播過大年節目，小山村從此走向大舞臺。

Panorama of terraced fields of Wuyun Mountain霧云山梯田全貌

在蘄北蘄南，在蘄太沿江線上，在大別山紅色旅游帶上，無數美麗鄉村宛如顆顆明珠，璀璨奪目。它們各具特色、各有風情、交相輝映，又散發著相同的美麗和魅力，展現了著名社會學家費孝通筆下“各美其美，美美與共”的新圖景。

Happiness and Harmony Everywhere

To build a civilized, wealthy new countryside, a good industry is needed as the foundation.

With the theme of “Peony Town,” Xuliang Village in Chidong Town relies on the resource advantages of the medical culture of Qichun and the Chilong Lake National Wetland Park to create an environment that integrates planting and breeding, health care, scientific research and processing,sightseeing and recreation, and experience-based entertainment.This exemplifies the model of a modern agricultural village.

Yet, it is merely a microcosm of the gorgeous countryside and innovative construction in Qichun. Now, Qichun has successfully created a provincial garden city, health city, and civilized city; Qizhou, Hengche,and Liuhe have become national key towns; Jiukesong has become a national civilized village, and 43 villages such as Lishan have become livable villages in the province. 10 villages such as Tangshuling are model villages for new rural construction in the province; and 10 villages such as Tangchong have become archetypal demonstration villages.

“Beautiful village construction should be carried out under the notion that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets. We should emphasize the integration of city, village and industry, so that farmers can benefit, the rural economy develops and thus the beauty of a village changes from outside to inside,” said Zhao Shaolian,member of the Huanggang Municipal Party Committee and secretary of the Qichun County Party Committee.

Qichun propelled the overall integration of the rural and modern industries, such as agriculture, medicine, health,culture, tourism, and logistics. In 2017, the fields planting Chinese herbal medicines in the county exceeded a total area of 350,000 mu, of which the production value of Qi mugwort reached 3 billion yuan. The number of pharmaceutical enterprises reached 395, and the output value was 6.68 billion yuan, making Qichun a key industrial cluster in the province.

At the same time, Qichun successfully hosted national competitions such as China Mountain Biking Tournament,major events such as Li Shizhen Qi Mugwort and Health Culture Festival and 30 village events such as the Beautiful Tangchong Culture Festival. It also set up 472 farm restaurants, accumulating a comprehensive tourism revenue exceeding 2.26 billion yuan.

In Liuhe Beautiful Village Demonstration Zone solely, the number of visitors reach more than 3,000 on holidays where a small farmhouse hosted 28 tables at noon. Two years ago,the reporters from CCTV visited Tangchong to give a live broadcast of how the villagers celebrate the Spring Festival on the last day before the lunar new year, which brought the small mountain village onto a national stage.

In the north and south of Qichun, on the Qichun-Taihu Line and the Riverside Line,or the Dabie Mountains Red Tour Line, countless alluring villages glimmer like bright pearls. Each of them has its own unique beauty and charisma,which demonstrates the words of sociologist Fei Xiaotong that, “Every form of beauty has its uniqueness. Precious is to appreciate other forms of beauty with openness. If beauty represents itself with diversity and integrity, the world will be blessed with harmony and unity.”

The beautiful Tangchong Village of Liuhe Town劉楊河湯沖美麗鄉村