By Gu Chun, Liu Junguo, In the tranquil winter of Huangyangjian village, Zhanmao neighborhood, Putuo district, Zhoushan, east China’s Zhejiang province, the aroma of roasted rice wafts through the air at the “Rabbit Market.”
Everything at the market exudes the unique charm, such as traditional mud stoves, clay teapots and bamboo chairs commonly found in the countryside.
The “Rabbit Market” was launched by local resident Xia Ziyu in 2022 upon her return home from working out-of-town. The market specializes in discovering, enhancing, and selling local farm produce.
“Guanyin rice is a specialty of Zhoushan. We have adopted rice roasting technique from Yunnan province to make tea with it,” Xia said, while skillfully stirring the rice, attracting many tourists.
Currently, Xia’s team consists of 21 people, mainly engaged in the commercialization of agricultural products and brand development, and supporting 200 pioneers in rural specialty products in livestream commerce. Last year, Xia was honored as a national young pioneer for rural vitalization.
In Zhejiang province, tens of thousands of agricultural innovators have ventured into villages and become a significant driving force for comprehensive rural vitalization.
Agricultural innovators, or farming entrepreneurs, are individuals below the age of 45 who take charge as leaders or stakeholders of farmer cooperatives, agricultural enterprises, family farms, or other agricultural production and operation entities.
The village of Taipingshan in Shangyu district, Shaoxing, Zhejiang province boasts a long history. In 2022, Shangyu native Chen Liefeng, who was running a business in Shanghai, visited the village for the first time and discovered its beautiful scenery, but noticed the absence of agritainment and rural guesthouses.
After researching ancient books, he found that the village has a long history of producing Polygonatum, also known as Solomon’s seal. Chen then signed a cooperation agreement with Taipingshan village and became a farming entrepreneur there. The village contributed its unused forest resources as equity, accounting for 60 percent.
Unlike artificially cultivated Polygonatum, the Polygonatum in Taipingshan is grown using a “natural growth” method, where villagers scatter the seeds in the high mountain forests without using pesticides or fertilizers, allowing them to grow naturally in the wild.
Currently, there are more than 450,000 plants thriving after Polygonatum seeds were sown on over 1,000 mu (667 hectares) of mountain forests in the village.
“We are not pursuing temporary ‘internet fame.’ We sow the seeds on hundreds of mu of land each year. When they become high-quality Polygonatum, we will achieve sustainable harvesting, which will be the long-term wealth of the village,” Chen said confidently.
With the development of the Polygonatum industry, the number of visitors and tourists has been increasing, and the village now boasts rural guesthouses, tea houses, and dining establishments.
Zhejiang province has launched a project to nurture 100,000 agricultural innovators, providing support in terms of funding, land, technology, and more.
In 2024, Zhejiang has initiated the construction of 100 modern farming entrepreneur parks and 500 bases for the common development of farming entrepreneur, offering a one-stop service including project incubation and skills enhancement, and promoting an entrepreneurship mechanism involving experts, farming entrepreneur teams and farmers.
“With the government’s support, we have successfully established a bamboo weaving workshop. In collaboration with schools, we are actively promoting intangible cultural heritage on campuses. Additionally, we have set up display counters at airports and five-star hotels, leading to a surge in orders,” said Ye Shangjie, a bamboo weaving inheritor born in the 1990s, in an intangible cultural heritage exhibition hall in Xijiang ancient village in Yizhou district, Ningbo.
Rural vitalization hinges on talent. Zhejiang province has set a target to cultivate 100,000 agricultural innovators,by 2025 who will help 1 million farmers increase their income. The province has already nurtured 300 outstanding rural talents, 4,600 leaders in rural industrial vitalization, 81,000 agricultural innovators, and 275,000 “new farmers.” This robust and dynamic rural talent pool is vital in driving comprehensive rural vitalization.
