The Power of Time: Examining the Long-term Approach Practice

ThePowerofTime：

ExaminingtheLong-term

ApproachPracticeofRural

Revitalization Throughthe

Case of Beigou Village

ResearchPress

February 2025

128.00 （CNY）

The Power of Time： Examining the Long-term Approach Practice of Rural Revitalization Through the Caseof Beigou Villagedelves into the storyof Beigou Village，nestled near the Mutianyu Great Wall，which leveraged its proximity to this historical landmark，a defunct glazed tile factory，and the broader rural landscape of Beijing. Through the excavation，activation，and utilization of local culture，the village has cultivated a unique“San-Sa Mechanism”（for equitable distribution of profits）and a“Beigou Model\"characterized bywarmth，humanism，and internationalization， which have become pivotal forces driving rural development.The book meticulously documents the trajectory of these innovative concepts，showcasing the author's distinctive perspectives on the disparities between urban and rural positioning，and profoundly unveils the strategies for in-depth exploration and utilizationof rural culturalvalues.

The Power of Time：Examining the Long-term Approach Practice of Rural Revitalization Through the Case of Beigou Village

Qin Jianfeng

QinJianfengisthe firstVillage Party Secretary from Beigou Village，Bohai Town，Huairou District，Beijing，and chairman of the 2049 Group.

1.Winds of Change （1980s1990s）

In 2007，when larrived in Beigou Village for targeted assistance， Ihad littleunderstanding of the place.l requested village history materialsfromWangQuan，the village's Partybranch secretary， familiarizingmyselfwith the situation while formulating a development plan.Beigouwas alreadymentionedby name during the Ming Dynasty，though it had not yet developed into a propervillage.Itwasmerely ageographical term，officially

knownas“Ying'er Beigou，a natural gully north of Xinying Village. By the late Qing Dynasty， sporadic villagers had begun to settle here，cultivatingwasteland. During theRepublicof Chinaera， Beigou wasa natural village under the administration of Xinying Village.Itwas in the1930s that Beigou Villagegainedofficial recognitionasan independent administrativeentity.

Although it is situated close to the ancient capital of Beijing， Beigou Villageboastsarelatively short history and lackssignificant cultural relics or prominent historical figures.Thisisthecase forthevastmajorityofruralareas across thecountry.Historytends to leave profound imprints in cities， where one regime gives way to another，and the flags atop city walls change hands frequently. In contrast，thevast rural expanses lie on the fringes orevenat the"periphery of these tumultuous events，servingas silent spectators tothe passage of time，with their landscapes of vibrant greenery and ever-changingclouds.

Theeconomyand culture of China'sruralareashaveevolved over thousands of years of agricultural society， deeply rooted in a rich historical legacy. In the course of modernizationdrivensocial transformation，the economicand social foundations upon which rural areas rely have undergone rapid changes. Somevillageshave transitioned directly from a slave societyto a socialist society， while others have leapfrogged froma natural economyinto an industrial or service economy.Faced with such unprecedented upheavals，most rural areas have been ill-prepared， either passivelyaccepting thesechanges，actively seeking integration，orchoosing to remain on the sidelines，waitingfor the rightmoment to take action. In reviewing Beigou Village's development trajectory， one crucial factor stands out： the restorationoftheMutianyuGreat Wall.On October 9，1986，Beijing launchedacampaigntitled\"The Sixteen Scenic Spots of Beijing， in whichboth the Badaling Great Wall and the Mutianyu Great Wallwere selected.Although the Mutianyu Great Wall gained fame later than the BadalingGreatWall， which was famous for the saying “Hewho hasneverbeentothe GreatWallisnotatrueman，\"it eventually caught up and became aniconicculturalandtourism destination of Beijing on par with Badaling.

The reform and opening up brought abouta significant influx oftourists，withtheForbidden City，theSummerPalace， the GreatWall，andtheMingTombs beingmust-visitdestinations. Avastnumberofdomesticand international tourists visiting Beijing would surely include a trip to the Great Wall.The Badaling Great Wall was always bustling with visitors，experiencing severe congestion of both people and vehiclesduring peak tourist seasons.In1985，to divert someof the touristtrafficfrom theBadalingGreatWall，the Beijing municipal government approved theestablishmentof theMutianyuGreatWallTourist AreaManagementOffice，under whichthe MutianyuGreatWall Tourism Service Companywas setup.Simultaneously，theOffice of the CPC Committee for the Mutianyu GreatWall Tourist Area was established，officially initiatingtourismdevelopment of theMutianyuGreatWall. Restorationwork on the Mutianyu GreatWall also commenced in full swing.The first phase of the restorationprojectofficiallybegan onMarch17，1983，withatotal investmentof12.5 million CNY. Itinvolvedtherestorationofa 2，250-meter-long section of the wallfromNo.17Watchtowerto the Big Corner Tower，along with 22 watchtowers.

In April1988，with all preparationscompleted，the MutianyuGreatWalltourist areawasofficiallyopened to the public.The restored Mutianyu GreatWallstoodbetweenfertile plainsand jagged peaks，creating astrikingcontrastin natural sceneries.Thecontinuous Great Wall，intertwinedwithcliffs and gorges，blended strength and grace，captivating the attentionoftouristsfromboth home and abroad.In just one year，itwelcomednearlyone Recommended Titles for Overseas Readers"million visitors.It particularly drewtheattention of national leadersand foreign dignitaries. On November 11，1990， Jiang Zemin，thenPresidentofthe People'sRepublicof China，visited Mutianyuand personally inscribed thefivecharacters“慕田峪長城\" （Mutianyu GreatWall），making the name of Mutianyuwidely known to the public.

Beigou Villagesits justastone's throwawayfromtheMutianyu GreatWallScenicArea.Huairou itself isconsidered the birthplace ofsuburbantourismaround Beijing，and the village is only aboutan hour'sdrive fromthe urbanarea of Beijing.However， throughout the1980sand1990s， Beigou Village seemed to exist inacompletelydifferentworld from the bustling tourismat Mutianyu Great Wall，the thriving rural tourisminHuairou，and the rapidly expanding and everchanging Beijing city. It was as if they were two parallel lines thatneverintersected，noteven showing theslightest tendency toconverge.BeigouVillage，like anoutsider，stoodsilentlybeside the tourist flow of the Mutianyu GreatWallandamidstthetideof suburban tourism around Beijing， keeping its head down，with kiln fires burning，it waited for its day to merge into the mainstream.

2.Seeds of Change（2004-2007）

Asthe1980s sawthe implementationofeconomic systemreformsinruralareas，the People'sCommunes，Production Brigades，and ProductionTeams wereabolished.Enterprises

originallyestablishedby brigadesand production teams weretransferredtotheunified managementof village collectives， known as“Township and Village Enterprises.\"BeigouVillagealso utilized itsnatural and social resources toestablish village collective enterprises， including aninlay craft factory，a rope factory，acarpetfactory，a brick and tile factory，and a glazed tile factory.These village enterprises absorbedacertainnumber ofsurplus'laborers，improved the villagers'material living standards，andcompletedthe \"primitiveaccumulation\"ofthe rural economies.Amongthem，the glazedtilefactorylaterbecame a landmarkofBeigou Villageand animportantcatalystforrural revitalization.

Ruralareasare spontaneously formed economic and social units， and their inherent changes occur graduallyand slowly.Substantial transformation，or even evolution， necessitatesthe interactionof internalandexternal factors. Rural revitalization hasactually occurred multiple times throughout history， typically accompanyingfundamental changesin economic or social systems，suchasland reform andthehousehold contract responsibility systemwith income linked to output.This new round ofrural revitalizationwillnot bringabout significantchangesin the system but will be driven by new contextsand external forces， themost importantofwhichare industrializationandurbanization. Themost prominent impact of industrializationisthe rise of township and village enterprises， whiletheinfluenceofurbanization ismost evident in rural tourism.

matchupwithcitiesintheeastern region，andthesameappliesto villagesandcitiesinthewestern region.Whenurbanandrural areasarewell-matchedandcan engage in unimpeded exchanges in production and living，rural revitalizationwill naturallyfollow.

When a village becomes wellalignedandseamlesslyconnected with the surrounding city， it can preserve thedistinctiveness of rural and urban lifestyles while also achievingbalanced developmentbetweenthetwo. While thismodel cannot be universallyapplied， forvillages withinurbanagglomerations， especially those on the outskirts ofmajormetropolitanareas， finding their niche and pursuing integrated developmentwith nearby cities isoftena promising pathforward.Thiskindof alignment also applies to other resourcesand entities，suchas towns，touristareas，industrial parks，andothereconomic function zones.Among them，rura tourism stands out as the most directexample.

Thelocations，conditions，and characteristicsvarysignificantly among different villages，making itdifficult toapplyasingle developmentmodel tomultiple villages.Some villages in more developed regionshaveoffered apathforward，namelyregional integration，whichmeans that villagesshouldalignwith the cities oreconomic functional zones in theirrespective regions.Villages in the eastern regionshould Modernrural tourismemerged asa formof travel in the1980s. Arepresentativeexampleisthe \"XuFamily Courtyard\"in Pidu District，Chengdu，established in 1988.It is recognized as\"China's firstnongjiale\"（agritainment destination），anditshome，You'ai Town，hassincebeendubbed the \"birthplace of China's nongjiale tourism.\"In itsearliestform， rural tourismprimarilyrevolved aroundnongjialeactivities， encompassing“appreciatingrural scenery，savoringfarmhouse cuisine，engaging in farm work，and enjoying rustic fun.\"Thanks to its low investment requirements， quick returns，and rapid start-up potential，nongjialeremains the most widespread and popular form of rural tourism even today.

Withits mountains， rivers，cultural heritage，and rich folkcustoms， Huairou holds unique advantages fortourismdevelopmentandwas oneof the earliestareasaround Beijing to pioneersuburban tourism.Before the Mutianyu Great Wall officially opened to the publicin1988，nearby villages such as Mutianyu，Beigou， Tianxianyu，and Xinying primarily relied on fruit tree cultivationas their main industry，with limited arable land. After the Mutianyu GreatWall'sopening，these four villagesbeganleveragingtheir proximitytotheattractionto actively develop tourismand related industries.Mutianyu Village，located rightatthe entranceof thescenicarea，saw the fastest growth.Following the site's official opening in 1988，the village gradually shifted fromprimary industryto tertiary industry，withover 80% of villagers' income coming from commercialoperations.Along the commercial'streetoutside the scenicarea'sexit，thereweremore than2oOvendorstalls-all owned by residents of Mutianyu Village. Almost everyhousehold hada stall on thestreet.Due to the high volume of foreign tourists， villagersofall agesbecameadept atgreetingcustomers in English. Meanwhile，Tianxianyu Village tapped into its mountain spring resourcesto developarainbow troutfarmingindustry，whichin turn fueled recreational fishing and dining experiences-giving risetoathrivingfolktourism scene.

As villagers in Beigou looked on at thesuccessof early movers like Mutianyu and Tianxianyu， theynaturally felt both inspired and anxious.But rather than rushing to compete or giving in toenvy，theirleadershipchosea differentpath-oneofpatience and planning. They focused on improvingthe village'soverall appearance and raising the culturalandeducational level of its residents.This was the longterm strategy and top priority set in motion when Wang Quan became thevillage'sPartybranch secretary in2004.Wang Quan had leftBeigou in1978 at the age of 19 to serve in the military，where he gained both physical resilience andvaluableexperience.After leaving the army in 1981，he returned to thevillage and served first asa production team leader， then took on roles such as factory director of a township and village enterpriseandofficedirector

atthetowngovernment.He alsoventured into businessand entrepreneurshipseveral times before being elected in2004as both Partybranchsecretaryand villagecommitteedirectorof Beigou at the age of45.

At the start of the 21st century， Beigou Village was still small in scale，with limited flat land. The situation was worsened by somevillagers buildingwithout permits，raising livestock and poultry haphazardly，and dumping waste-making it a textbook case of disorder and poor living conditions.With little to no industryinthevillage，residents had few ways to earn a living， limited opportunities to improve their livelihoods，and frequent conflicts and disputes. Due to its backwardness，locals even referred to Beigouasbeigala （backwater of the north）.At the time，Wang Quan laid out the numbers for thevillagers： Growing chestnuts or going out formigrant work would never bring real prosperity. The most practical path forward was to make good use of their proximity to the Mutianyu Great Wall and develop tourism.But itcouldn't happen overnight. It required long-term vision and addressing the village'sweaknesses，onlyther could sustainable development take root.

\"Streetsand courtyardsare like the face of avillage-withouta cleanand pleasantenvironment， there'snowaytodevelop.'This Waswhat Wang Quan often repeated.So，aftertakingoffice， the very first thinghe tackled wasenvironmentalcleanup.He introducedtheslogan\"strive fornoblindspots insanitation，\" personallyinspectingeverycorner of the village，photographing areas in need of improvement，and issuingnotices forrectification. He convened meetings with the village leadership，Party members，andrepresentatives， encouragingPartymembersand representatives to take the leadby claimingresponsibilityforspecific zones.They led by example一 tearingdown unauthorized sheds， removingall outdoor pit toilets， and relocatingfirewood storage to garden plots on the hillside Thanks to these efforts，the village trulyachieved its goal of having no blind spots in sanitation.

When Wang Quan was elected Partybranchsecretary of the village in2oo4， theaverageannual incomeofthevillagerswasjust over 4，ooO yuan，and the village wasburdenedwithmore than 800，000 yuan in debt. Improving the village environment-paving andbeautifyingstreetsand cleaning up public spaces-was the first priority he took on.But even simple rules， like not letting dogs roam freely or not piling firewood outside one's gate，were difficultto enforceacross the board.

In2007，thevillage committee begandraftingaVillageCode of Conduct-asetofbehavioral norms forall residents to follow. Theycollected input through householdvisits，andafter rounds of discussions and voting atPartymembermeetings， representatives'meetings，and household head gatherings，they finalizedand refinedtherules into 22 major categories with morethan260 specificclauses. Withthat， the village finallyhad a clearandwidelyaccepted set of guidelines to follow in daily life.

The improvement in Beigou's environment led to the village being selected in 2007asone ofBeijing's first pilot sites for building new countryside in mountainousareas.In theyears that followed，as one of the \"firstbatch\"of new countryside models，rural construction projectswere implemented in BeigouVillage gradually.This also laid the groundwork for the establishmentoftheBrickyard Hotel，whichwasbuilttoattract international visitors.When choosinga location fortheproject， the foreign partners prioritized not just natural resourcesbutalso the quality of the local community environment.Theylooked for placesthatweresociallystable， clean，andwell-maintained - conditions thatwere generally lacking inmany of thevillages along the GreatWall atthe time.

3.Bloom of Change（2007-2010）

On October11，2005，the FifthPlenary Session of the 16thCentral Committeeof theCommunistPartyofChina adopted the Proposals for Formulatingthe11thFive-Year PlanforNational Economicand SocialDevelopment.Itcalled for a solid push toward building a new socialist countryside， based on the principles of \"productiondevelopment，welloff life， civilized village style， neatvillage appearance and democraticmanagement.\"The term“buildinga newsocialist countryside\"was not entirely new，andithad appeared in variousformssincethe1950s. However，inthenewhistorical context，the term proposed by theFifthPlenary Session of the 16th CPCCentral Committee tookon deepersignificanceand comprehensiverequirements. ItisanovelissuefacedbyChina afterenteringanewdevelopment stagecharacterized by industry promotingagricultureand urbanareassupportingrural development.Itisaninevitable reguirementofthetimesandthe constructionofaharmonious society.

In the late199Osand early21st century，with the rise of holiday tourism，represented by two-day weekendsand three“Golden Week\"holidays，as well as selfdrivingtourism，ruraltourism experienced rapiddevelopment. Implementing the strategy forbuildinganew socialist countrysideinjected newvitality and brought new opportunities for the vigorous development of rural tourism.Years of rural development practices have proven that various nonagricultural industries have played acrucial role inaddressingrural surplus labor，increasingfarmers' income，and improvingthe rural industrialstructure.Rural tourism has played an important role in thisregard.The formerChina National TourismAdministration designated 20O6 as\"TheYear forRural Tourism in China.\" In 2007，the China National Tourism Administrationandtheformer Ministry of Agriculture jointly issued the Notice on Vigorously

\" Yangjiale，\" literally meaning \"foreign-style homestay happiness，isaconceptthat contrastswiththetraditional nongjiale.Itreferstorural homes rentedbyforeigners andtransformed into leisure accommodations.These homestayshaveattractedalarge number ofoutdoor enthusiasts， health-consciousurban professionals，andinternational tourists.Asaformofrural tourism，yangjialerepresentsa deep integration of international culturewith Chinese rural life. This trend first emerged in more openand globally connected regions suchas the Yangtze River Delta，with earlyexamples found in places like Mogan Mountain in Deqing， Zhejiang;Meijiawu in Hangzhou;and Sanshan Island in Suzhou.

PromotingtheDevelopment ofRural TourismNationwide （LuFa[2007] No.14）.Withthe allowanceofthetransferofland contractand management rights ruraltourismattractedmore social capital and talents，leading toa diversifiedand composite developmenttrendinrural tourism.

In the practice of buildinga new countryside， rural tourism has takenonmany forms.These includeagricultural sightseeing focused on pastoral landscapes， nongjialethatofferhandson experiences with farming andrural life，toursofancient townsandtraditionalvillages showcasinghistoricalarchitecture andlocalcharacter，leisure agriculture involvingfruitand vegetablepickingandagricultural scienceeducation，folkculture tourismcentered around local customs，traditions，and festivals， andcountrysidevacationsthat offerlongerstays forrestand relaxation.Ruraltourism has madesignificantcontributions toruraldevelopment.Tourists bring not only consumption and information，butalsogenerate employmentopportunities， raiselocal incomes，and help improvevillageenvironments andrevitalizeruralculture.It hasbecome one ofthe most widespread and popular types of tourism productsand services across the country.

In2007，GrantHorsfield，aBritish national workingin Shanghai， discoveredSanjiuwu，asmall hamlet，duringhis trip to Mogan Mountain.At the time，Sanjiuwu was a remote mountain village withpoortransportationaccess. Mostof the local residentshad left to work elsewhere，and many ofthe housesintheareawere abandonedorleftidle.Drawn by the village's natural beauty， Horsfieldrentedeightofthese vacantfarmhousesataround 8，000 yuan per house per year. He renovatedand redesigned themas aretreatforhimselfandhisfriends Asmoreand more peoplebecame interested in his little getaway， Horsfield decided to open his first yangjiale-a foreign-owned countryside homestay.What started asa personal projectsoon sparkedatrend.Atitspeak，the yangjialemovement inMoganshan attracted foreignentrepreneurs from more than ten countries， including the UK，Sweden，the Netherlands，Spain，andFrance，all settingup their own countryside homestays.

The Mutianyu Great Wall and its surrounding villages have long been a favored destination for many foreigners，not only for sightseeing，leisure，and vacations，but also asa place to settle down and makea home. Among the most representative figuresare Jim Spear and hiswife， who were early pioneers in local tourism development.Their first project was The Schoolhouse restaurant in Mutianyu Village. The restaurant was formerly a primary school that had been vacated due to a mergerwith other village schools.In 2006，the Spearsand their friends leased the property and，while preserving its original structure，transformed the campus into a Westernstylerestaurant.Thename \"Schoolhouse\" is a direct nod to its original function. Centered around The Schoolhouse，asmall community of foreign residents began to take shape.Theyused the homes they had rentedas guesthouses for tourists.These renovated homes typically reflect a blend of Chinese and Western design aesthetics： traditional gray brick and tiled roofs paired with floor-to-ceiling glass windows， and modern sculptures set against the ancient backdrop of the Great Wall.Thisunique architectural fusion preserved the traditional charm of northern Chinese dwellings while incorporating refined elements of Western"style，such as European fireplaces， chandeliers，and oil paintings， offeringasharedaesthetic appreciatedbybothcultures.The \"foreignfolkcustoms\"attracted evenmore foreign visitors.Many foreigners came not just to travel， but to stay for the long term.Asa result，numerousonce-abandoned courtyards have been rented by foreigners，eitherasresidencesor toruntheirownbusinesses.

Culture is not static， nor is traditionimmutable-eachera has its own mission. It is precisely this evolvingnature that gives culture itsvitalityandallows traditionto endure overtime. Therenewalofcultureand the transformationoftraditionare，in fact，part of the norm.Embracing the essence while discarding the outdated，keeping pace with the times while maintaining continuity-thisisthescientific approachto traditional culture and folk customs in the context of social change.The emergence of yangjialeand \"foreign folk customs\"has opened a new window for the development of rural China.In the past， rural tourism was centered around nongjiale-traditional Chinese farmhouse-stylestays，whichwas often referred toasminsuyuan （folk-custom courtyards）.The core resourcesof rural tourism wereagriculture，thecountryside， and folk customs，all aimed at attractingurban dwellers.The more“rustic\"or“authentic” theexperience， thegreater its appeal.Foreigners，however， bringa different perspective to traditional Chinese rural areas. What they see is \"countryside\"in abroader sense-a conceptthat stands as a counterpart of the city. In this view，the\"countryside\"is no longer simply equated with \"the rural;\" the two are no longer synonymous.