Shanghai should develop distinctive rural industries to promote urban-rural integration, according to experts.
The city must drive changes in the lifestyle of local farmers by transforming production methods and developing specific rural industries to achieve rural modernization by 2025, Yu Qiuyang, an associate research fellow at Shanghai Academy of Social Science, said at an academic salon yesterday, citing a blueprint on rural revitalization.
Shanghai has been promoting the construction of demonstration sites of rural revitalization since 2018, Yu noted, adding that there were 110 demo villages in 2020, with the number to increase to 150 by 2050.
The growth rate of industrial income of the first nine demo villages jumped to 80 percent in 2021 from only 7 percent in 2018, adhering to the core of green agricultural development in rural areas.
For megacities such as Shanghai, promoting integrated rural-urban development is a must to become an outstanding global city, according to Yang Chuankai, another associate research fellow at the SASS. Rural life is scarce in Shanghai, given its high urbanization level, Yang added.
Urban areas' strong spillover effect will gradually form rural industries with recreational agriculture and rural tourism, Yang noted. Shanghai has the conditions to lead the construction and integration of urban-rural development, Yang pointed out.
A person leading the local tourism development team of Dongxia, a village located in Shanghai's Songjiang district, told Yicai Global that they renovate old rural warehouses, develop projects including camping, horseback riding, archery, and cycling, and have partnered with tourism agencies and other channels to host team building and parent-child travel events.
The village's income from camping activities was CNY380,000 (USD54,811) during last year's National Day holiday in October, the person pointed out. Dongxia has also temporarily allocated more camping land for the upcoming Labor Day holiday, he noted.
Source:YICAI 2023-04-26 By Shi Yi
