China Daily Global Edition (USA)
LOOK TO DRAW PEOPLE BACK TO THE COUNTRYSIDE
AThe capital of Hubei province has started a program to allow businesses to flourish in run-down and abandoned villages. and report from Wuhan, with in Beijing. t a time when large cities are still sucking in rural residents from across the nation, a major city in Central China is working hard to reverse the trend by encouraging people to move to the countryside.
In April, Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, proposed a program — the “20 Golden Terms”, as it was dubbed by the media — that would allow urban residents to conduct business in the city’s rural areas.
The drive came in response to rapid urbanization which has seen villages in and around the city sucked dry of residents.
According to research conducted by the municipal government, more than 116,000 houses,nearly16percent,ofthe1,902villages around the city have been abandoned. By the end of last year, nearly 1 million of Wuhan’s ruralresidentshadmovedtothecity’scentral areas.
Tan Benzhong, director of the Wuhan Municipal Agriculture Committee, said the risingnumberofemptyhousesinvillageshas been caused, in part, by the rapid pace of urbanization.
Some villagers have obtained hukou ,or household registration, in Wuhan, while many young people are leaving to look for work in big cities.
When government officials conducted a random survey in 38 villages, they discovered thatmorethan78percentofthoseinterviewed werewillingtoleasetheiremptyhomestogain extra income. There was only one problem — who would rent the properties?
In response, the government came up with the “golden” package, which essentially cleared the way for people who want to make money in the countryside, and promised hard cash encouragements for qualified applicants.
The policy ensures that outsiders enjoy the same business terms as their rural counterparts, no matter which village they choose to invest in. Green lights and express passes will be provided for all application procedures.
The city government is committed to spending large sums to improve the infrastructure, including providing private and public toilets, to ensure that newcomers and tourists enjoy their time in the city’s villages. Thefinaldetailsofthefundingarrangements have yet to be released.
Most attractively, entrepreneurs are eligible for cash stipends of as much as 100,000 yuan ($14,700) for undertaking certain types of business, such as agritainment (farmbased entertainment) and agritourism.
Positive expectations
Zhang Qun, chief of the new countryside development department at the Wuhan Municipal Agriculture Committee, said the government has positive expectations for the campaign, mainly because nearly 3 million urban residents, or 30 percent of the population, are age 60 or older in Wuhan.
“Quite a few of these people have both the enthusiasm and financial capability to move to the countryside and enjoy life after retirement,” Zhang said. “If 10 percent of them want to do this, that’s 300,000 people. That could present a huge market opportunity.”
Despite the benefits on offer, Zhang conceded Above: People chat in front of a restaurant in a rural area in Wuhan. The local government is encouraging people in the urban areas to start business in the city’s rural villages. that there are potential problems for tenants, landlords and regulators.
Some tenants are concerned that house owners may not honor long-term agreements and will terminate contracts when they feel like it.
Moreover,otherswanttobuythehousesas an investment, but the current laws only allow outsiders to rent properties for no longer than 20 years.
Some villagers are worried that the tenants will adapt the houses for business purposes to such an extent that they will not be able to live in them in the future.
Some government regulators, especially those in charge of housing, doubt whether people who rent houses for business purposes will abide by the rules and refrain from expanding the properties illegally.
“But one thing is for sure, if your business loses money, the government will not cover your loss. The current policy does not even consider that,” Zhang said.
“Our stipend policy is equal for everybody. We will put our focus on providing guidance in advance. People should act based on their own situations.”
Initially, in addition to Chen, only five families moved to the village from the city. Now, there are 12 new households, and a growing number of visitors are arriving for short stays.
“Collecting firewood, cooking meals, feeding animals and growing vegetables means we are busy every day. A life like this is not only entertainment, but also a form of exercise,” he said.
As more people joined in, Chen organized them into a number of cooking teams, which take turns to provide meals every day: “These seniors gather at my place during the day, and return to their rented houses to sleep.”
In 2012, when Chen and his friends discovered the house, it was dilapidated. Everything was broken or out of order. Although Chen’s group loved the natural environment, the house was uninhabitable.
“But that didn’t scare us away,” Chen said. With their rich, combined experience of factory work, he and his friends provided all the tools and materials they needed to renovate the house, including a generator, electric drills and a tree dozer.
After several months of work, they produced a nine-room house which can accommodate more than 30 people.
“What we wanted was more than just agritainment (a combination of agriculture and entertainment, in which people visit farms to relax and enjoy the country life). We just wanted something more. We wanted to truly live on the farmland and blend into the countryside. We wanted to be professional farmers,” Chen said.
He will never forget the first night he moved into the newly renovated house. He and his friends were sitting together sipping hot tea in the courtyard and the sky above them was filled with stars. They could hear the distant croaking of frogs every now and then, sneaking into the silent night. That was when Chen told himself, “I’ve got to bring my family here to see this gorgeous scenery.”