Industrial park turns cr ystal capital into green county
Automating production also plays a key role in costcutting. “I used to employ 100 workers before moving to the Crystal Park, but now I only need ten,” says Luo Yintian, owner of Luoxiao Crystal.
Pujiang’s crystal industry has not only survived the anti-pollution campaign but grown significantly. Its output value in 2016 was more than 9 billion yuan, up from 6 billion yuan in 2013.
This wealth is also trickling down to the wider economy. Per capita disposable income rose another 20 percent in Pujiang between 2013 and 2016, according to Zhejiang Online.
Workers who lost their jobs have either moved back to their home provinces or been paid compensation, according to the county government, with many using the money to set up agribusinesses growing grapes and Chinese toon.
Pujiang’s cleaner environment is also helping new businesses sprout up. Xinguang village, which once choked on the fumes of 300 crystal workshops, is now a tourist spot housing trendy bars, cafes and boutiques.
In Cuihu, Zhou has also prospered from the water campaign. His new tenants have converted the old workshop into a restaurant, and pay him 5,000 yuan more a year in rent. He’s now retired and spends his evenings strolling around the lake with his granddaughter.
“There are many people walking beside the lake in the evenings these days,” he said with a smile.
By 2015, Zhejiang had cleaned up 6,500 kilometers of “garbage” rivers and 5,100 kilometers of “black and smelly” waterways.
And $5.5 billion has been invested in 177 major flood control projects over the last three years.
It strictly controls water usage, with the goal being that annual water consumption would not rise above 24.5 billion cubic meters in 2020.
By 2020, all water problems in Zhejiang are expected to be solved.