Chapter Six One Village, One Scene Beautiful Village Construction in Qichun

Dawu Happy New Village of Qingshi Town青石镇大屋幸福新村

During the misty spring in March, Qichun is providing its visitors with impeccable landscape.

On April 23, more than one hundred tourists from both inside and outside of Hubei Province went sightseeing in Tangchong Village and Huzhigao Village of Liuhe Town, Qichun County.Here, all of the houses are painted with creamy white walls and leafy dark green roofs. The whole village is sprinkled with milky green bamboo far into the emerald mountains. Bamboo pavilions, comfortable stools,bluestone trails, stone flowerbeds,bridges, and vibrant flowers echo the natural serenity of the mountain throughout the village.

“The emerald mountains from afar and the green village nearby seem out of painter’s brush. The slopes, mountains and villages are dotted with the enduring beauty of the green bamboo branch.” The picturesque village scenery deeply impressed or even aroused the nostalgia among the visitors.

Each Village Is a Unique Beauty

A Turkish poet once said, “In one’s life, there are two things that are unforgettable: one is his mother’s face, the other is his town’s image.” So the intricate details of our cities, villages and even streets perhaps remain with us for the entirety of our lives.

Inspired by this, Qichun County insists on a policy of“top-level designing, whole-area planning, foregrounding the town features and integrating urban and rural development” on the road to building new countryside that will embellish its people with lifelong pride for their home.

Qichun County has invested nearly 10 million yuan to formulate all-encompassing ideas that cooperate with top domestic planning and design institutes from Jiangsu and Shenzhen, and made sure that every construction project is well designed.

烟花三月，美丽蕲春。

不负春光好时节，品味乡村获得感。4月23日，逾百名省内外游客徜徉在蕲春县刘河镇汤冲村、胡志高村。这里民居小屋白墙黛瓦，竹林青翠遍植山塆，竹亭竹廊竹牌坊竹椅凳点缀其间。还有那青石小径、石砌花圃、小桥流水、柳暗花明，好一幅“远黛近墨皆入画，半山半竹半坡村”的乡村美景图。

不少游客感叹：望得见山，看得见水，记得住乡愁。

胸有丘壑村村垸垸精细描眉

土耳其诗人纳乔姆说：“人的一生有两样东西是永远不会忘记的，这就是母亲的脸庞和家乡的面貌。”一座城市、一个村庄、一条街道，往往都有自己的历史和故事。

秉承这一理念，蕲春县坚持高起点规划，突出全域谋划，彰显城市设计，引领城乡统筹发展。

蕲春县投入近千万元，与江苏、深圳等国内顶级规划设计单位合作，全方位编制规划,真正做到“不在没有规划的地方搞建设、不搞没有规划的建设。”

村庄规划犹如女子化妆描眉，需要根据不同脸型选择不同的眉型，然后施以或挑或勾或匀的笔法，精雕细琢，达到“淡妆浓抹总相宜”的美。蕲春以精细规划,引领美丽乡村建设。不搞一刀切，不大拆大建，杜绝千村一面，更多地关注地域特色和文化个性，打造“一村一品、一村一韵、一村一业、一村一景”各具风格、各有风情的美丽乡村。

两年来，以蕲太线、沿江线、大别山红色旅游线为主线，蕲春大地雨后春笋般地涌现出以“石文化”为特色的刘河镇胡志高村，以“竹文化”为看点的刘河汤冲村，以“农耕文化”为名片的青石镇高溪村等一批美丽乡村示范村。

云端梯田雾云山村、渔村唱晚雨湖社区、美丽花海龙泉庵村、山乡紫薇雷祠堂村、李山问茶李山村、梦里水乡陈赛大队、牡丹小镇徐亮村、驿路古道车门村、城区后花园飞跃村、扶贫新村大屋村等，形成了以点为基、串点成线、连线成片，全县全域化分类分层建设美丽乡村的竞相发展新格局。

内外兼修家家户户柳绿花红

在外务工的胡志高村村民胡胜蓝夫妻俩，专程从广东赶回来，邀请几个相好的乡亲，帮他们从河里捡回两车鹅卵石，动手在家门口新建了一个花坛。胡胜蓝说：“家家户户栽花种草，很漂亮，我家也不能因为我长年在外而落后。”

The new look presented by a tea garden茶乡新貌

围绕“望得见山野、听得见乡音、闻得见乡味、摸得到乡趣、记得住乡愁”，蕲春县在高昂“龙头”夯实城镇发展的同时，舞活“龙身”展现乡村美丽风采。

Consider village planning as a woman’s eyebrow make-up.Just as it is necessary to choose different types according to different faces, and then employ meticulous craftsmanship to achieve the beauty of an integrated whole, Qichun made a careful plan to achieve attractive rural construction. It does not engage in a one-size-fits-all approach, or blindly demolish and construct. Instead of making all villages look the same, it pays special attention to both geographical features and cultural values of individual villages so that each village thereby preserves its unique cultural characteristics and natural aesthetics.

In the past two years, with the Dabie Mountains Red Tour Line,the Qichun-Taihu Line and the Riverside Line as the main lines,many such villages blossomed in Qichun. They are distinctive with unique features such as the “stone culture” of Hu Zhigao Village, the“bamboo culture” of Tangchong in Liuhe Town, and the “farming culture” of Gaoxi in Qingshi Town.

There’re the ethereal cloud terraces in Wuyunshan Village,the hearty melody of folk fishing songs in Yuhu Community, the vast flower seas in Longquan’an Village, the beautiful crape myrtle flowers in the mountainous village Leicitang, the aroma of Lishan tea, the dream-like water village Chensai Dadui, the “Peony Town”Xuliang Village, the ancient post road in Chemen Village, and all have formed a point-based compendium connecting the lines into a composite picture.These efforts demonstrate fully the county’s rural development pattern which classifies and develops villages throughout the region in different levels.

A foreign “groom” at a folk festival 民俗节上的“洋女婿”

Every Cottage Is Full of Color

Hu Shenglan and his wife, a couple from Hu Zhigao Village,came back from Guangdong Province and invited a few good neighbors to help them pick up two truckloads of pebbles from the river. A rich flower bed framed with smooth pebbles was then laid on the doorstep of his house,a typical scene in there in the village. Hu Shenglan said: “Every family grows flowers and plants which look so beautiful! My family shouldn’t be left behind just because we are working outside.”

Jiukesong New Village 小康新村九棵松

全县强力关停所有石材企业，否决高耗能、高污染项目58个。大力推进绿色乡村、绿色通道、绿色庭院创建，全县共完成植树造林30万亩，森林覆盖率达到39.2%。

在房前屋后栽花种草，在空地岔道见缝插绿，以生态装扮乡村。把十里八乡农户家的石磨收集回来，铺成石板路；以竹子为材料做亭台楼阁，轩榭廊舫；把稻谷、玉米、花生、辣椒、芝麻、黄豆等五谷杂粮巧妙地设计成村庄景点或者农家小屋的点缀，以特色点亮村庄。用村民的照片做成笑脸墙，打造名人榜、文化长廊，以文明乡风育人。

立足“农业强、农村美、农民富”，蕲春县创新投融资机制，整合项目资金，全面打通美丽乡村建设“最后一公里”,统筹1500万元资金投入美丽乡村。县、镇、村三级通过各种渠道，投入美丽乡村建设资金约6000万元。

鼓励社会资本积极参与美丽乡村建设。

从环境保护、生态修复，到培育生态文明意识，追求绿色生活方式，蕲春坚持外修生态、内修人文，通过挖掘生态特色、文化特色，打造出石文化、竹文化、农耕文化、陶艺文化、艾草文化、花海文化、水乡渔村文化、茶文化等一批一村一韵、一处一景的美丽乡村。

Beautiful Chenyun Village 美丽陈云村

产村相融幸福家园处处和谐

建设文明富裕新农村，要有一个好产业做基础。

赤东镇徐亮村以“牡丹小镇”为主题，依托蕲春“药”文化、赤龙湖国家湿地公园等资源优势，打造融种养、养生、科研加工、观光休闲、体验式娱乐为一体的现代农业生态村庄。

这只是蕲春美丽乡村、美丽蕲春建设的一个缩影。蕲春已成功创建省级园林城、卫生城、文明城；蕲州、横车、刘河成为全国重点镇；九棵松成为全国文明村，李山等43个村成为全省宜居村庄；棠树岭等10个村成为全省新农村建设示范村；汤冲等10个村成为全省美丽乡村示范村。

“美丽乡村要厚植‘绿水青山就是金山银山’的绿色发展理念，重点在产城一体、产村一体上做文章，让农民得到实惠，求得发展，实现‘美丽乡村’从‘外在美’到‘内在美’的深刻蝶变。”黄冈市委常委、蕲春县委书记赵少莲说。

In the whole-area rural construction, Qichun is making the scenery, sound, smell, fun and the sentiments of nostalgia of the villages approachable, and trying to display their rural beauty while strengthening the development of the urban regions.

In an effort to promote the cultivation of green villages, green corridors, and green courtyards,the county has shut down all the stone companies and rejected 58 high-energy-consuming and high-pollution projects. Up to now, the county has completed the reforestation of 300,000 mu(20,000 hectares) of land, and the forest coverage rate has reached 39.2%.

After planting trees, flowers and grasses all around houses,lush natural colors can be seen at every curious turn of the head.People gather the stone mills from the neighborhood to repair roads;bamboo is used for pavilions and corridors; and rice, corn, peanuts,peppers, sesame, and soy grains are used as icing on the cake for farmers’ homes. These efforts bring subtle, defining beauty to the villages. The villagers have also created celebrity lists and cultural promenades by using photos of the villagers on the wall to create a smiling face collage.

Based on the strategy of fostering “strong agriculture,rural beauty, and rich farmers,”Qichun County innovated the investment and financing mechanism by integrating project funds, fully opening up the “last mile” of rural construction, and allocating 15 million yuan of funds to build the exquisite countryside.The county, township, and village governments have invested about 60 million yuan to beautify villages through various channels.

Social investments are also encouraged in Qichun’s rural construction.

From environmental protection and ecological restoration to cultivating awareness of how to live in an ecological civilization that pursues a green lifestyle,Qichun insists on both ecological and cultural development.Through excavation of its ecological and cultural features,Qichun has fostered a number of villages unique not just in its beautiful scenery but also in its stone culture, bamboo culture,farming culture, pottery culture,mugwort culture, flower culture,fishing culture or tea culture, etc.

蕲春推动美丽乡村与现代农业、医药、养生、文化、旅游、物流等一二三产业深度融合。2017年，全县中药材种植面积超过35万亩，其中蕲艾产值达到30亿元。医药企业达到395家，产值66.8亿元，成为全省重点产业集群。

与此同时，成功举办全国山地自行车赛等国家级赛事、李时珍蕲艾健康文化节等重大节会和美丽汤冲文化节等30多个乡村节会，发展农家乐472家，旅游综合收入突破22.6亿元。

刘河美丽乡村示范片节假日游客达到3000多人，一户小农家乐一中午就接待了28桌游客，中央电视台前年大年三十还到刘河汤冲直播过大年节目，小山村从此走向大舞台。

Panorama of terraced fields of Wuyun Mountain雾云山梯田全貌

在蕲北蕲南，在蕲太沿江线上，在大别山红色旅游带上，无数美丽乡村宛如颗颗明珠，璀璨夺目。它们各具特色、各有风情、交相辉映，又散发着相同的美丽和魅力，展现了著名社会学家费孝通笔下“各美其美，美美与共”的新图景。

Happiness and Harmony Everywhere

To build a civilized, wealthy new countryside, a good industry is needed as the foundation.

With the theme of “Peony Town,” Xuliang Village in Chidong Town relies on the resource advantages of the medical culture of Qichun and the Chilong Lake National Wetland Park to create an environment that integrates planting and breeding, health care, scientific research and processing,sightseeing and recreation, and experience-based entertainment.This exemplifies the model of a modern agricultural village.

Yet, it is merely a microcosm of the gorgeous countryside and innovative construction in Qichun. Now, Qichun has successfully created a provincial garden city, health city, and civilized city; Qizhou, Hengche,and Liuhe have become national key towns; Jiukesong has become a national civilized village, and 43 villages such as Lishan have become livable villages in the province. 10 villages such as Tangshuling are model villages for new rural construction in the province; and 10 villages such as Tangchong have become archetypal demonstration villages.

“Beautiful village construction should be carried out under the notion that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets. We should emphasize the integration of city, village and industry, so that farmers can benefit, the rural economy develops and thus the beauty of a village changes from outside to inside,” said Zhao Shaolian,member of the Huanggang Municipal Party Committee and secretary of the Qichun County Party Committee.

Qichun propelled the overall integration of the rural and modern industries, such as agriculture, medicine, health,culture, tourism, and logistics. In 2017, the fields planting Chinese herbal medicines in the county exceeded a total area of 350,000 mu, of which the production value of Qi mugwort reached 3 billion yuan. The number of pharmaceutical enterprises reached 395, and the output value was 6.68 billion yuan, making Qichun a key industrial cluster in the province.

At the same time, Qichun successfully hosted national competitions such as China Mountain Biking Tournament,major events such as Li Shizhen Qi Mugwort and Health Culture Festival and 30 village events such as the Beautiful Tangchong Culture Festival. It also set up 472 farm restaurants, accumulating a comprehensive tourism revenue exceeding 2.26 billion yuan.

In Liuhe Beautiful Village Demonstration Zone solely, the number of visitors reach more than 3,000 on holidays where a small farmhouse hosted 28 tables at noon. Two years ago,the reporters from CCTV visited Tangchong to give a live broadcast of how the villagers celebrate the Spring Festival on the last day before the lunar new year, which brought the small mountain village onto a national stage.

In the north and south of Qichun, on the Qichun-Taihu Line and the Riverside Line,or the Dabie Mountains Red Tour Line, countless alluring villages glimmer like bright pearls. Each of them has its own unique beauty and charisma,which demonstrates the words of sociologist Fei Xiaotong that, “Every form of beauty has its uniqueness. Precious is to appreciate other forms of beauty with openness. If beauty represents itself with diversity and integrity, the world will be blessed with harmony and unity.”

The beautiful Tangchong Village of Liuhe Town刘杨河汤冲美丽乡村