Xiaohua New Countryside

Xiaohua New Countryside

In the springtime farmhouse courtyard, the sun shines warmly. The pomegranate trees are still storing up vitality, while peach blossoms are about to bloom, their tips showing an irrepressible blush of pink. Beside them, the pale pink and white apricot blossoms have already burst into delicate bloom all over the branches. A gentle breeze carries faint wafts of fragrance. Greedy bees buzz from flower to flower, while white butterflies flutter their lovely wings, dancing a joyful “dance of spring.” Stealing a moment of leisure amid the busyness to appreciate this rural charm — where “the true meaning is felt but words fail to express it” — has become a popular pastime for residents of Jingjiang.

In recent years, thanks to the new countryside construction initiative, the rural areas of Jingjiang have undergone tremendous changes. Residents used to frequenting big cities and famous scenic spots have turned their attention to the revitalized countryside during holidays. Xiaohua Village in Xinqiao Town, located on the banks of the Yangtze River, is the wealthiest village in Jingjiang and a “pearl” in the new countryside construction. The centralized residential area of Xiaohua Village is a model project for the whole city. The residential zone consists of detached houses, townhouses, and apartment buildings, with houses arranged in an attractive layout and winding roads. Ecological agriculture is the flagship industry of Xiaohua Village. The 2,000-acre agricultural eco-demonstration park, focusing on pollution-free vegetables and flower seedlings, is beginning to take shape, along with a 300-acre nursery. A 300-acre tourism industrial park, centered around Xiaohua Central Lake and Dongping Temple, features an open square, an agricultural culture exhibition and experience area, dining and entertainment zones, agricultural sightseeing and fruit picking, as well as an ecological wetland conservation area, all of which have accelerated the pace of new countryside development. Within Xiaohua Village’s high-efficiency agricultural demonstration park, a sightseeing route connecting professional Phalaenopsis orchid cultivation, vegetable greenhouses, the centralized residential area for farmers, and an organic rice planting base has become a model attraction for both new countryside construction and urban-rural integration in Jingjiang.

As the poem goes: “One night of spring wind thaws the plum; peach red and plum green bloom in full bloom. Hungry sparrows chirp together in the woods, purple swallows fly in pairs over the ridges. Light bikes appear, small houses multiply — the rural scene is better than before. The air is fresh, the mountains are beautiful, and even in the fields, one feels like an immortal.” The spring scenery of Xiaohua paints a modern-style picture in the southeastern corner of Jingjiang.