Guilin makes greater strides in modernization

Visitors take a trip on the Lijiang River, which flows through Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. [Photo/Xinhua]

City builds on Red Army legacy, blazes path of green development

For Wang Deli, a 42-year-old grape grower in Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, the road to rural modernization is typified by his 0.87-hectare vineyard, where grape vines flourish in the spring sunshine.

Two years ago, President Xi Jinping visited Wang's home in Maozhushan village and chatted with the farmer's family during an inspection tour of the region.

Now, more certificates of merit for Wang's daughters, Wang Jia'nan, 13, and Wang Zixuan, 11, adorn one wall of the property, where shelves display local specialties such as packaged rice noodles, bottled sliced pepper and fried fish. Together with the vineyard they earned the family an annual income of 150,000 yuan ($21,550) last year, a rise of 10,000 yuan from 2021.

"We are sincerely grateful to the visit by President Xi, who encouraged us to live a better life through diligence and intelligence. I am now also running a homestay, one of six in the village," said Wang, who was elected a deputy to the Guangxi regional people's congress in January.

During his visit, Xi called for efforts to pursue rural vitalization based on local specialties and for the better use of science and technology to promote the agricultural sector.

Grapes were first grown in Maozhushan, a once-impoverished village covering an area of 60 hectares and with a population of 156, in 2002. Many young villagers who moved to big cities as migrant workers gradually returned and were employed in the grape industry.

Wang Xinming, the village chief, said vineyards in the village now cover more than 21 hectares and can produce over 500,000 kilograms of grapes annually, generating revenue of more than 3.5 million yuan each year. The villagers' per capita disposable income reached 38,000 yuan last year, he added.

Moreover, Maozhushan has become a well-known destination for rural tourism. Wang Qing, a local tour guide, said that last year the village received more than 300,000 visits from tourists.