The Rebirth of a village: A Case study of Wufang
“The people are rich, the village is beautiful, and happy. There are fewer contradictions, and there is more happiness.”
That is what Qin Ying (秦瑛), Secretary and Director of the General Party branch in Wufang Village (吴房村) told me. Wufang village lies right outside of one of China’s biggest cities, Shanghai. Only 6 years ago, this village was characteristically rural. Wufang was polluted, the land was dilapidated, and houses were empty with all the young working in the nearby city. In 2017, the Chinese government officially announced an urban-rural development plan, cementing their motivations to revitalize China. Soon after in September 2018, the local government of Wufang launched a 100-million-yuan facelift campaign, to try and save this village.
Arriving at Wufang, one would think that there isn’t a whole lot there. It was honestly hard to think that this was what a “revitalized” village looked like. As an outsider looking into villages like this, it is often hard to imagine that people have day-to-day lives here, and it sparks some curiosity as to how they get by, and what their quality of life is like. I then met Qin Ying for the first time, and she gave me an insider look at the village and what it is like for the people who live there every day, including herself.
Qin Ying is from Wufang, and living with her in the village is her children and husband. She was elected into her current position in 2017, and to the villagers, she is their 嬢嬢(niáng niáng).
“In the process of reconstruction, the people saw that the houses were dilapidated before, and after, people became much happier.” As Qin Ying walked me through the revitalization process and answered my many questions, it was clearly visible how excited she was to tell her story, but how much this village, and the people within it meant to her. And that is the main significance of these revitalizations — to improve the quality of life of these villagers.
Revitalizing a village is no small task, especially under strenuous situations, such as poor locations in relation to materials and labour, and in conditions that are not ideal to get to or are so rural that there may not be roads. In Wufang’s case, they lucked out. Being next to one of the world’s biggest cities gave them an advantage in the revitalization process, but even so, as Qin Ying explained, it was not an easy process.
“During the construction, there were many difficulties. Before 2017, the economy here was not good. When told the village would be revitalized in 2018, the villagers were worried, and did not believe in the process. The government had to persuade the villagers to rent their houses, carry out renovations, and work together with the villagers.”
Qin Ying also expressed how important it was that the village’s history and character were not lost. “To save the land, do not destroy cultivated land. The principle of opening up is to rebuild and retain historical houses. Don’t become a town, instead keep a century-old tree, or an old house.”
After all this time, Wufang’s revitalization has been deemed a success, and now, it is considered an example of what should come out of China’s rural revitalization. Qin Ying touched on how it affected the villagers themselves, saying that “The income of enterprises and coffee bars have increased”, as most people used to rely on solely agriculture for their income. Walking through the village, there was not only a good balance of it still being an actual village but having adequate things for tourists to do when visiting. Wufang is considered a “网红景点”, or a viral tourist spot. Because of the prime location Wufang has, for people living in Shanghai looking for a quiet, relaxing weekend, it is a perfect option.
But, for other villages across China, this may not be the case. For villages that do not have a prime location, it may be harder for them to get revitalized. If there is not already an attraction or big city near the village, there may be little motive for government officials and planners to revitalize said village.
So, in the future of China’s rural revitalization, what should they look out for? In order to achieve post-revitalization success, the entire process should heavily involve the villagers. With the villagers involved, you will be hearing what they want and need, and every step in the process can be vetted by someone who has lived there for their entire life, and by someone who has great connection and feelings for the village.
Like I already said, revitalizing a village is not easy — it is expensive, labour-inducing, and extremely complicated. But, with the proper involvement, and proper cautions, it can be done. And what better place to do it than China?
