STORY: Green development becomes hallmark of rural areas in China's Zhejiang
DATELINE: June 26, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:24
LOCATION: HANGZHOU, China
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the village
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): XIAO ZHONGYA, Supervisor of planting base, Zhejiang Tasha horticulture Co., Ltd.
3. various of the village
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): JIN ZHENGHUA, Party chief of Taoyuan Village, Zhejiang Province
5. various of the village
6. SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): SUN JIE, Project manager, Jiajiayouyun Platform, Yundong Village
7. SOUNDBITE 4 (Chinese): CHEN LIANYING, Resident in Yundong Village, Zhejiang Province
8. various of the village

STORYLINE:

Green development has emerged as a defining feature of rural areas in China's Zhejiang Province, since a rural revival program was launched here 20 years ago.

With a focus on people's well-being, the Green Rural Revival Program, which covers as many as 10,000 villages, was launched in June 2003 to address the imbalance in development between cities and rural areas.

Rural regions here have embraced environmentally-friendly practices to achieve a harmonious balance between economic growth and environmental protection.

In Taoyuan Village in Haining City, a gardening company reaped a sales revenue of over 70 million yuan (9.7 million U.S. dollars) last year.
　
SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): XIAO ZHONGYA, Supervisor of planting base, Zhejiang Tasha Horticulture Co., Ltd.
"Sales from livestreaming have achieved rapid growth in recent years. Previously, livestream sales only accounted for around 20 to 30 percent of the company's sales revenue. But last year, the number reached 50 percent."

Taoyuan Village has made great efforts to develop its flower industry, which has brought significantly higher incomes to residents.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): JIN ZHENGHUA, Party chief of Taoyuan Village, Zhejiang Province
"The incomes come from land leasing, salaries and dividends. It (Tasha Horticulture Co., Ltd.) gave out 9 million yuan (1.25 million U.S. dollars) salaries last year. More than 140 people in Taoyuan Village are working in the company, so their incomes were more than 4 million yuan (550,000 U.S. dollars)."
　
In Yundong Village in Jiaxing City, a digital cloud platform has helped turn the local environment neat and tidy.

Staff members can scan the QR code near villagers' homes and upload images onto the platform, which allows for the rating and evaluation of the tidiness of the surroundings.
　
SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): SUN JIE, Project manager, Jiajiayouyun Platform, Yundong Village
"The top level is 'good,' which indicates orderly environment, and allows residents to gain 3,000 points. The second level is 'medium,' which indicates some degree of untidiness, and allows residents to gain 2,000 points. Through our persuasion, the residents have been willing to clean up their surroundings."
　　
SOUNDBITE 4 (Chinese): CHEN LIANYING, Resident in Yundong Village, Zhejiang Province
"We'll dispose of garbage in time. We have a great sense of fulfillment. We'll continue to do it well and further improve the environment around the house."
　　　
Over the past 20 years, more than 200 billion yuan (27.8 billion U.S. dollars) has been invested in the Green Rural Revival Program in Zhejiang.

By the end of last year, more than 90 percent, or some 36,000 villages, were rated "beautiful villages in the new era" by provincial authorities.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Hangzhou, China.
(XHTV)