◇On September 13, 2021, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the People's Republic of China, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, pointed out during his inspection and investigation of Gaoxigou Village, Yinzhou Street, Mizhi County, Yulin City, Shaanxi Province, that Gaoxigou Village is a model of ecological governance on the Loess Plateau. It is necessary to thoroughly implement the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, organically combine ecological governance with the development of characteristic industries, and embark on a road of coordinated ecological and economic development and harmonious coexistence between man and nature.
◇The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the Outline of the Plan for Ecological Protection and High-Quality Development of the Yellow River Basin, proposing to "give prominence to soil and water conservation on the Loess Plateau, comprehensively protect natural forests, continue to consolidate the achievements of returning farmland to forest and grassland, and increase the comprehensive control of soil erosion". The "14th Five-Year Plan" proposes to innovate the soil erosion control model of the Loess Plateau in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, and actively carry out the comprehensive management of small watersheds, dry farming terraces and the construction of silt dams. The Office of the Central Committee and the Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Strengthening Soil and Water Conservation in the New Era", which clearly "promoted the construction of dry farming terraces on the Loess Plateau" and "vigorously carried out the construction of high-standard silt dams on the Loess Plateau"...
◇Keeping in mind General Secretary Xi Jinping's entrustment, Shaanxi Province has firmly established and practiced the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, and has successively issued planning documents such as the "Plan for Ecological Protection and High-quality Development of the Yellow River Basin of Shaanxi Province" and the "Shaanxi Provincial Land and Space Ecological Restoration Plan (2021-2035)", unremittingly strengthening the protection and restoration of vegetation, coordinating the management of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasslands and sands, building a solid ecological barrier on the Loess Plateau, and developing characteristic industries to increase the income of the masses with the times.
◇Planting greenery and consolidating soil, renovating farmland, and systematic management... The method forced out by suffering has taken root and iteratively upgraded in the thrashing of practice.
◇"With high-standard farmland with stable and high yield, even if there is a bit of drought this year, the yield of corn per mu in the field can exceed 1,000 catties, and the yield of millet per mu can be 900 catties. ”
◇ Soil control in the south, sand control in the north, water regulation... Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, a battle of ecological governance has been quietly started in the mountains and ravines of the Loess Plateau.
◇"In the past, the water of the Fenchuan River could only flow away in vain during the flood season. Through smart water diversion to carry out the management of small watersheds, the microcirculation of the water system can be smoothed and the water of the Fenchuan River can be retained. ”
◇"When I broadcast live, many customers want to see the growth of apples, but also the green Loess Plateau. This forest sea is both scenery and wealth. ”
◇Bit by bit convergence, promote the great changes of mountains and rivers. Thousands of ravines have long been full of greenery. According to data from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, at present, the forest and grass vegetation coverage of the Loess Plateau has reached more than 59%.
"Lookout" Newsweek reporter Shen Hongbing, Chen Chen, Jiang Chenrong
In the middle of summer, take a car from Xi'an, Shaanxi Province all the way north to Yulin, and the altitude gradually rises. As far as the eye can see along the way, the green mountains are like daisies. The dense forest is splendid, the fruit is swaying, painted on the only green base, and the dots are dyed into a gorgeous and colorful oil painting. The appearance of the dusty Loess Plateau in the impression is difficult to find.
The Loess Plateau, located in the north-central part of the mainland, covers a vast area west of the Taihang Mountains, east of the Wusheling Mountains, north of the Qinling Mountains and south of the Great Wall, covering an area of about 640,000 square kilometers. According to historical records, the Loess Plateau area was once rich in water and grass, fertile fields for thousands of miles, and then the ecological environment was destroyed, the vegetation was degraded in a large area, and the wind and sand invaded and soil erosion.
The two cities of Yan'an and Yulin in northern Shaanxi Province are mostly hilly and gully areas of the Loess Plateau, which are the most serious areas of soil erosion in the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River. Once, when the wind rose, the yellow sand flew, and after the rainstorm, the eyes were full of ravines, telling the desolate and sad song of the yellow earth.
This is also the place where General Secretary Xi Jinping is deeply concerned.
On September 13, 2021, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the People's Republic of China, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, pointed out during his inspection and investigation of Gaoxigou Village, Yinzhou Street, Mizhi County, Yulin City, Shaanxi Province, that Gaoxigou Village is a model of ecological governance on the Loess Plateau. It is necessary to thoroughly implement the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, organically combine ecological governance with the development of characteristic industries, and embark on a road of coordinated ecological and economic development and harmonious coexistence between man and nature.
On the major topic of ecological governance of the Loess Plateau, General Secretary Xi Jinping is thinking about it——
"In the process of development, we must resolutely adhere to the ecological red line, so that the sky is high and the clouds are light, the grass and trees are shady, and the cattle and sheep have always become the characteristic scenery of the Loess Plateau", on February 13, 2015, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized when presiding over the symposium on poverty alleviation and prosperity in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo Revolutionary Base Area.
In September 2019, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out when presiding over a symposium on ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin that soil and water conservation is not simply digging a few pits and planting a few trees. In places where conditions permit, it is necessary to vigorously build dry farming terraces and silt dams, while in some places, it is necessary to focus on natural restoration, reduce human interference, and gradually improve the local microclimate.
……
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, under the personal planning and guidance of General Secretary Xi Jinping, the ecological governance of the Loess Plateau has entered a new stage.
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the "Outline of the Plan for Ecological Protection and High-quality Development of the Yellow River Basin", proposing to "highlight the soil and water conservation of the Loess Plateau, comprehensively protect natural forests, continue to consolidate the achievements of returning farmland to forest and grassland, and increase the comprehensive management of soil erosion"; The "14th Five-Year Plan" proposes to innovate the soil erosion control model of the Loess Plateau in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, and actively carry out the comprehensive management of small watersheds, dry farming terraces and the construction of silt dams. The Office of the Central Committee and the Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Strengthening Soil and Water Conservation in the New Era", which clearly "promoted the construction of dry farming terraces on the Loess Plateau" and "vigorously carried out the construction of high-standard silt dams on the Loess Plateau"...
Keeping in mind General Secretary Xi Jinping's entrustment, Shaanxi Province has firmly established and practiced the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, and has successively issued planning documents such as the "Shaanxi Provincial Plan for Ecological Protection and High-quality Development of the Yellow River Basin" and the "Shaanxi Provincial Land and Space Ecological Restoration Plan (2021-2035)", unremittingly strengthening vegetation protection and restoration, coordinating the management of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasslands and sands, building a solid ecological barrier on the Loess Plateau, and advancing with the times to develop characteristic industries to increase the income of the masses.
In recent years, the average annual amount of yellow sediment in Shaanxi has decreased to about 270 million tons, the forest coverage rate of the Yellow River Basin has reached 36.8%, the vegetation coverage has reached 60.7%, and the vegetation carbon sequestration has risen to 477.5 grams per square meter, and the green territory of the province has advanced more than 400 kilometers to the north, and the main color of the Loess Plateau has realized a historic transformation from "yellow" to "green".
Red flags are rolling and green. From Gaoxigou Village to the foot of Baota Mountain, from the southern edge of the Mu Us Sandy Land to the bank of the Yellow River, a magnificent picture of green mountains and green waters, high sky and light clouds, and vitality is slowly spreading out on the Loess Plateau.
Scenery of Baota Mountain in Yan'an City (taken on June 26, 2023) Photo by Zhang Bowen / This magazine
The vicissitudes of Gaoxigou
When I arrived in Gaoxigou Village, I understood the significance of ecological management to the Loess Plateau.
Standing on the Longtou Mountain at the entrance of the village, you can take in the colorful scenery: under the blue sky and white clouds, the green mountains are stretched out continuously, and the patches of pine, arborvitae and poplar trees are lush and green. Turning around and looking back, the apple trees are full of fruit, and the terraces are dotted in between. In the ditch, the pear orchard is neat. Farther away, the reservoir is sparkling.
Turn back the clock and look very different.
A few decades ago, this small ravine in the hilly and gully area of the Loess Plateau was barren and prone to nine droughts in ten years. Memories of poverty and starvation are still lingering.
"At that time, there was a saying: 'There are women who do not marry Gao Xigou.' In order to fill their stomachs, the fathers could only go up to the mountains to open up wasteland and farm, hoping to dig out more 'slopes' and eat more 'nests'. Gao Zhixi, a 69-year-old villager from Gaoxigou Village, told the reporter of "Lookout" Newsweek that excessive reclamation has caused Gaoxigou to fall into a vicious circle of "the more reclamation becomes poorer, the poorer the reclamation", and millet porridge cannot be eaten when it is difficult.
Pain leads to change. In the 50s of the 20th century, the Gaoxigou people began to look for a way out in the loess gully. Planting green soil, renovating farmland, system management... The method forced out by suffering has taken root and iteratively upgraded in the thrashing of practice.
Persist in planting greenery and consolidating the soil. Since 1953, the cadres and masses of Gaoxigou Village have tried to build forests in the high mountains and distant mountains, abandoning the cultivated slopes to plant pastures, planting caragana on steep slopes, and closing the mountains to prohibit grazing and protecting forest grasses. The originally bare hills are turning green day by day, and "water does not go down the mountain, mud does not go out of the ditch" is gradually realized, and soil erosion has been effectively controlled.
"At that time, the masses did not have a clear concept of ecological protection, but they just relied on a force to persevere." Gao Zhixi said. Today, Gaoxigou Village still maintains the tradition and consciousness of planting trees and grasses. Every year, the newly developed party members in the village have completed the planting of at least 100 saplings, and the survival rate is guaranteed to be more than 90%. The village has 4,800 acres of forest and grassland, 1,000 acres of orchards, 78% of barren hills, and 70% of forest and grass coverage.
Repair the farmland and ask for grain from the land. In the winter of 1958, in order to build the first horizontal terraced fields, the people of Gaoxigou carried out a general battle in Sunjialiang Mountain in the way of "building terraces on the gentle slope of the mountain, and building weir nests in the ditch dam". The locals said, "The bottom of the ditch is dammed, the weather is not afraid of drought, and an inch of mud can be silted up, and a hundred loads of fertilizer can be topped." The Gaoxigou people built dams and weir nests in waterless ditches, built ponds and canals in ditches with water, expanded water land, built terraces on the gentle slope of the mountaintops, and built wide terraces, with a total of 126 dams and 100 weir nests, which not only increased cultivated land resources, but also increased grain production.
In recent years, Gaoxigou Village has carried out high-standard farmland construction on the basis of the original terraced fields. Jiang Liangbiao, secretary of the party branch of Gaoxigou Village, introduced that the village has newly repaired 777 acres of high-standard farmland, with an investment of about 2,000 yuan per mu, "with high-standard farmland with stable and high yield, even if it is a little dry this year, the yield of corn per mu in the field can exceed 1,000 catties, and the yield of millet per mu is 900 catties."
According to the statistics of the agricultural department of Mizhi County, the average water saving per mu in the Mizhi high-standard farmland demonstration area is 30%, 25% of membrane, 20% of fertilizer and 20% of labor, and the average yield of millet per mu has increased by 120 kg, saving costs and increasing income by about 900 yuan.
System governance keeps pace with the times. Based on the analysis of the local natural conditions such as mountains, water and soil, Gaoxigou Village explored and implemented the "three-three system" model in which fields, woodlands and grasslands each accounted for one-third in the 70s of the 20th century. "This practice has significantly improved the vegetation coverage rate of the whole village, effectively controlled soil erosion, and coordinated the development of agricultural production and ecological protection." Jiang Liangbiao said.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Gaoxigou Village has started a "second entrepreneurship": in accordance with the principle of "suitable forests for forests, suitable grass for grass, and suitable for grain", and the unified planning of mountains, water, fields, forests, and roads, and the idea of comprehensive management of ditches, slopes, beams, ridges, and streams, systematic ecological governance has been carried out. Starting from the optimization and adjustment of the industrial structure and land use structure, we should gradually develop the "three-three system" into the "three-two-one" model, that is, the ratio of land for forests, grasslands, and grain is 3:2:1.
Today, the microclimate near Gaoxigou Village has improved significantly. "As the vegetation increases, the change in climate is clearly felt. Every year, there are one or two more rains in our village than the surrounding areas, and each time the rainfall is one or two millimeters more than the surrounding areas. Chang Jing, the first secretary of Gaoxigou Village, said.
After 70 years of continuous struggle, Gaoxigou Village has created a miracle of no longer transporting sediment to the Yellow River in the most serious areas of soil erosion on the Loess Plateau.
One hand protects the green, and the other hand "produces gold". Gaoxigou Village implements afforestation and greening of public places in the blank spots of the area, builds a pilot demonstration park for the introduction of trees in the mountains of the Loess Plateau, guards the green "family property", strengthens characteristic industries such as millet and mountain apples, improves the construction of economic forests, and accelerates the development of cultural tourism. "Mizhi has established the development idea of opening up a green development path with ecological governance and consolidating the foundation of rural revitalization with characteristic industries, and promoted the ecological governance of the Loess Plateau in the whole region." Yang Shusen, the magistrate of Mizhi County, said.
In 2022, the per capita disposable income of Gaoxigou Village reached 21,700 yuan. The ecological advantages accumulated over a long period of time are being transformed into real development dividends. Relying on the good natural environment, Gaoxigou Village has built a number of scenic spots such as soil and water conservation ecological exhibition hall, terraced sightseeing spots, apple picking orchards, etc., and the oil buns, millet cakes, and dumpling noodles cooked by the skillful mother-in-law have become fragrant dumplings. Every holiday, the village is full of tourists.
Gao Zhizhou, a 68-year-old villager, participated in the village's courtyard renovation project and renovated his home's seven-hole old cave. "I've had a chef's license before. Now that the cave has been renovated, the farmhouse has opened. During the conversation, he was overjoyed: "People in the city are rare and untouched with beautiful scenery and food. This green water and green mountains are really a good situation for us! ”
Gnawing the "hard bones" of ecological governance
The change of Gaoxigou Village is a microcosm of the effectiveness of ecological governance on the Loess Plateau. Soil control in the south, sand control in the north, water regulation... Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, a battle of ecological governance has been quietly started in the mountains and ravines of the Loess Plateau.
Satellite remote sensing vegetation coverage images from the Shaanxi Forestry Department show that from "half yellow and half green" in 2000 to "one piece of green" in 2010, and then to "large areas of green" in 2020, the ruler of time has carved the arduous process of ecological restoration.
South soil control, afforestation to improve quality and efficiency. Yichuan County, Yan'an City, on the west bank of the Yellow River, is famous for its Hukou Waterfall. It is also one of the most ecologically fragile and sensitive areas in the Yellow River Basin: the Linhuang Cliff is steep, with slopes of more than 50 degrees in many places. Due to the difficulty of treatment and the scarcity of vegetation, a heavy rain can sweep a large amount of sediment into the Yellow River.
There is such a group of people who are active on the cliffs on the west bank of the Yellow River in Yichuan County all year round. They are in a "desperate situation", carrying saplings on their backs, with safety ropes tied to their waists, facing the cliff wall to dig pits and plant trees. There is no road, they climb; There is no earth, they carry back; There was no water, they were transported from the Yellow River. Since 2012, this "cliff afforestation team" has planted more than 10,000 acres of forests in ecologically fragile areas such as cliffs and steep slopes, and has overcome the problem of cliff afforestation with the stubbornness and flesh and blood of "leaving no inch of barren mountains".
From "the mountains are bare and suffer from disasters and famines every year" to "layers of terraced fields and hills, patches of forests and grasses cover slopes and depressions", the "cliff afforestation team" has experienced the profound contrast between the old and the new. The cliffs and steep slopes that used to be difficult for vegetation to grow are now covered with trees and shrubs, and the green hills are endless, and there is no end in sight.
In 2021, the Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government formulated the "Plan for Ecological Protection and High-quality Development of the Yellow River Basin of Shaanxi Province", proposing to implement nine major forest and grass vegetation protection and restoration projects, including the protection and restoration of natural forest resources, the construction of three-north shelterbelts, the ecological reconstruction of key areas, and the ecological restoration of grasslands. From point to surface, the green territory on the Loess Plateau continues to expand.
Standing on the pagoda hill and looking around, green is the main color of the city. Yan'an, once dry and rainless and sparsely vegetated, was named a National Forest City in 2016, with vegetation coverage increasing from 46% in 2000 to 81.3% today.
Desertification control in the north to promote carbon sequestration in desertified land. The northern part of the Loess Plateau, the Mu Us Sandy Land and the Great Wall along the wind-blown sand are the key areas for increasing the greenery of the land and improving the comprehensive vegetation coverage. On the basis of the results of the afforestation campaign of "hundreds of thousands of people marching into the sand sea" in the 20th century, in recent years, the Mu Us Sandy Land adjacent to the periphery of the Loess Plateau has actively developed desertification control industry, strengthened desertification control, ecological restoration of aeolian sand sources and restoration of degraded shelter forests.
Yang Yang, deputy mayor of Yulin City, introduced that the Yulin Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government issued the "Decision on Strengthening the Construction of Ecological Civilization and Building an Ecological Civilization Demonstration Zone on the Loess Plateau", proposing to increase the transformation and construction of shelterbelts and the construction of forestry and animal husbandry ecological zones, "making green the main color of the land of Yulin"; Establish a government-led, mass participation, social follow-up, multi-channel, diversified, all-round investment system, since 2010, Yulin has promoted ecological construction with an annual investment amount of no less than 400 million yuan... A series of policies and measures have been intensively introduced, and technologies such as aerial seeding and sand control, pine sylvestris and afforestation have been rapidly promoted, so that the large area of barren sand in Yulin has been covered with green.
"The mobile sand dunes have stopped growing green, and Mu Us has moved from 'light green' to 'dark green'." Zhang Yinglong, president of the Shenmu Ecological Protection and Construction Association in Shaanxi Province, told reporters that ecological experts are making beneficial attempts to reconstruct the ecosystem in Mu Usu, and the phenomenon of "carbon sequestration" is gradually appearing in sandy forests, which is an important sign of increasing soil organic matter content and improving land fertility.
From 2017 to 2019, Shaanxi provincial finance invested a total of 2.3 billion yuan in pilot funds for the protection and restoration of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes and grasses on the Loess Plateau, supporting a total of 210 projects, adding 3,979.18 square kilometers of soil erosion prevention and control, and reducing 19,481,300 tons of yellow sediment per year. In Yan'an, the area of soil erosion has decreased from 28,800 square kilometers at the end of the 20th century to 17,800 square kilometers in 2022, and the average amount of sediment entering the yellow sediment has dropped from 258 million tons to 31 million tons.
Smart water management, intensive and efficient use of water resources. There is the Fenchuan River flowing through, and Nanniwan, which is "a good Jiangnan in northern Shaanxi", has left a history of rice planting. "In the past, the Fenchuan River could only flow away in vain during the flood season. Through smart water diversion to carry out small watershed management, the microcirculation of the water system can be smoothed and the water of the Fenchuan River can be retained. Liu Gang, director of the project management department of the Management Committee of Nanniwan Development Zone, introduced that in recent years, relying on the pilot project of water system connection and comprehensive improvement of rural water system in Baota District, Yan'an City, Nanniwan has realized the intelligent allocation of water resources during the flood period.
On the big screen of the Nanniwan Shuimei Rural Intelligent Management Center, the operation of the reservoir in the whole basin can be seen at a glance. Through the implementation of supporting projects such as river bank slope treatment, soil and water conservation, and pollution prevention and control, not only the water demand for the future development of Nanniwan can be guaranteed, but also a new look of abundant water and grass and a new scene has been formed on both sides of the Fenchuan River.
The empowerment of science and technology has effectively improved the level of water resource utilization. At present, Shaanxi's "smart water protection" platform provides technical support for soil erosion monitoring and forecasting, soil and water conservation ecological construction, etc., and medium-sized and above silt dams have an "ID card". Zhang Yongfeng, deputy director of the Yan'an Municipal Water Affairs Bureau, said that as a national pioneer area for the high-quality development of soil and water conservation determined by the Ministry of Water Resources, Yan'an adheres to the guidance of science and technology, strengthens the supervision and management of soil and water conservation in accordance with the law, and realizes the full coverage of soil and water conservation supervision during and after the construction of production and construction projects.
In accordance with the principle of "zoning management and precise policy", Yan'an has steadily promoted the construction of a comprehensive soil erosion control system. Zhang Yongfeng introduced that in the southern high-rise gully area, it is important to do a good job in the construction of the Baoyuan and Solid Gully Project, and speed up the construction of ecologically clean small watersheds. In the northern hilly and gully areas, emphasis should be placed on the establishment of a sediment retention engineering system based on gully silt dams to further control and reduce the inflow of yellow sediment. In the soil-rocky mountainous areas along the Yellow River, emphasis should be placed on the prevention and control of soil erosion in the remnant areas, and the construction of water conservation projects such as comprehensive management of small watersheds, closure and management, and silt dams should be carried out.
According to preliminary statistics, since the start of the construction of the national high-quality development pilot zone for soil and water conservation, departments at all levels have invested 1.86 billion yuan in soil and water conservation funds for Yan'an, and the area of soil erosion control has increased by 1,581 square kilometers.
Fruit farmers pick apples in an orchard in Asi Village, Yongxiang Township, Luochuan County, Yan'an City, Shaanxi Province (photo taken on October 10, 2022) Photo by Zhang Bowen / This magazine
"Two Mountains" Transform Loess into "Producing Gold"
In early summer, the reporter came to the pastoral complex in Hujiapo Village, Fu County, Yan'an City. More than 2,100 acres of paddy fields here have just been planted. As far as the eye can see, the seedlings are tender and green, the stream is murmuring, the scarecrow "guards" the field, and the newlyweds can be seen taking wedding photos from time to time.
The same is farming, in high-standard farmland, ploughing cattle become "iron cattle", relying on the year to rely on science and technology, and the harvest is very different.
Li Shichun, a 62-year-old villager, grows 10 acres of rice. In the past, the plots were small and scattered, employing more than a dozen workers during the planting season. After the construction of high-standard farmland, his family's fields were leveled and contiguous, the field roads were hardened and widened, and rice transplanters and harvesters came in handy.
"The yield per mu has increased from less than 1,000 catties in the past to more than 1,700 catties now. My son and I can take care of these 10 acres of land. I couldn't have imagined it in the past! He said.
Persistent ecological management has changed the regional ecology of the Loess Plateau, and more profoundly changed the living conditions of farmers facing the loess and planting widely and harvesting little.
Build high-standard farmland and develop modern agriculture. In Jinpenwan Village, Baota District, Yan'an City, more than 300 acres of saline-alkali land, which has been abandoned for many years, has been transformed into high-standard farmland with leveling, irrigation and drainage, and planted with corn. More than 3,200 acres of high-standard farmland transformed by the village have doubled the output.
Based on the natural conditions of the Loess Plateau, which is interlaced with ravines and broken terrain, northern Shaanxi has gradually explored silt dams, a unique soil and water conservation engineering measure in the Loess Plateau, over the years. In ravines prone to soil erosion, building earth dams to intercept sediment can play a role in impounding flood water and maintaining water and soil. At present, more than 34,000 silt dams have been built in northern Shaanxi, accounting for more than half of the country.
"Most of the dam land is fertile land that can be used for food production." Yan Jianhua, deputy director of the Yan'an Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said that through the promotion of dry farming technologies such as damming and rainfall, ditch planting, mulching and moisture protection, rainfall cellar irrigation, and water and fertilizer integration, the agricultural green development system of the Loess Plateau is becoming more and more perfect. In Yulin, in 2022, 480,000 mu of new dry farming and water-saving farmland will be built in the city, and the total grain output will reach 2.525 million tons.
In July 2023, the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and other five departments jointly issued the "Ten Measures on High-quality Construction of High-standard Farmland", proposing to determine the construction standards by region and type in accordance with the requirements of "ensuring income in drought and flood, high yield and stable production", and strive to use 2~3 years to significantly improve the construction standards of high-standard farmland in Shaanxi, and build high-quality and high-standard farmland that can be irrigated in case of drought, drained in case of flooding, and has high yield and stable yield.
The integration of three industries and the deep excavation of the potential of "local specialties". On the basis of years of ecological governance, Shaanxi Province proposed to dig deep into the resources of "soil", amplify the advantages of "special", extend the chain of "production", vigorously implement the upgrading project of characteristic modern agriculture, and seek benefits from the integrated development of primary, secondary and tertiary industries.
Half an hour's drive from Yan'an City, you will arrive at Yandonggou Village, Qiaogou Street, Baota District. After receiving a call from a customer, Qiao Guimei, a fruit farmer, walked into the orchard, identified the apple tree adopted by the customer, and turned on the video to start the live broadcast.
"Customers use mobile phone applets to adopt fruit trees, and then ship them by courier after harvesting. In the past, apples could only be sold for money when they were ripe, but now as soon as the trees bloom, customers can adopt them. Qiao Guimei pointed to the green mountains in the distance and said, "When I broadcast live, many customers want to see the growth of apples and the green style of the Loess Plateau. This forest sea is both scenery and wealth. ”
In Asi Village, Luochuan County, where apples were first planted in Yan'an, an apple cultural block has been built in recent years, and the orchard has been turned into a park. Spring flowers, summer coolness, autumn picking, winter snow, the orchard has scenery all year round. 13 kilometers away, in the Luochuan Apple Modern Industrial Park, a national apple wholesale market, 52 large-scale enterprises and more than 300 small and micro enterprises have settled in, and more than 5,000 people are employed here.
"70% of farmers in Yan'an are engaged in the apple industry, and apple income accounts for 61% of farmers' operating income." Lu Shuguo, director of Yan'an Fruit Industry Center, said that Yan'an is represented by fresh fruit planting, the second industry represented by fruit nets, fruit baskets and carton processing, and the third industry represented by agricultural material distribution and warehousing and logistics. With apples, the "hardcore crop", thousands of fruit farmers have fulfilled their dreams of being well-off.
Not only the apples of Yan'an, but also the peppercorns of Yanchang and Yichuan, the melons of Wuqi, the red dates of Yanchuan, the chestnuts and walnuts of Huanglong... The boundless ecological forest sea has opened up a new path for the masses to get rich with "local specialties".
Reshape the landscape and do a good job in rural "beauty" articles. Ecological governance has enriched the people and refreshed the appearance of the countryside. In Zhaojia'an Village, Baota District, Yan'an City, the style of the cave homestay group is simple and simple, and the green mountains are contrasting. In front of the neat relocation community, tourists happily experience paper-cutting in northern Shaanxi. Picking the tomatoes that are organically fattened in the garden, taking a bite, the taste of childhood is filled.
"In these green waters and green mountains, is there any nostalgia for you?" Following the live broadcast of the mobile phone, Li Xiongwei, who runs a flower business here, introduces the audience to a sea of flowers. Zhaojia'an Village is the largest flower base in Yan'an, with 17 greenhouses. "The days are good, and love beauty has become a rigid need. Now selling flowers, the four seasons are the peak season. He said.
There is an article in the word "beauty". On the basis of continuous promotion of ecological governance, Nangou Village, Gaoqiao Town, Ansai District, Yan'an City, transferred 22,500 acres of abandoned land and mountaintop woodland in the village, reshaped the landscape pattern, and gradually realized landscape diversification, ecological economy and agricultural modernization.
Walking into Nangou Village, apples, plums, apricots on the hills, fruits and vegetables in the sheds, characteristic homestays in the idyllic scenery... It is a beautiful scenery that attracts tourists and makes the villagers proud.
"In the past, the road was impassable, and when it rained, the car couldn't get in, and I had to climb the hill to find a signal when I made a call. Now, the village has been rated as a 3A-level scenic spot, and the per capita income of the villagers reached 19,500 yuan last year, becoming a pearl on the Loess Plateau. Zhang Guanghong, a township cadre who has been working in the village since 2011, said that from the barren mountains and barren slopes in the past to the green waters and green mountains, and then to today's gold and silver mountains, "the more you eat this bowl of rice, the better and more fragrant you eat"!
"From the butterfly changes in Nangou Village, we can see the hope of rural revitalization on the Loess Plateau in northern Shaanxi." Chen Yiping, a member of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said that reshaping the ecological landscape pattern in the hilly and gully areas of the Loess Plateau according to local conditions is a reference road for rural revitalization.
Bit by bit, it has contributed to the great changes in the mountains and rivers. Thousands of ravines have long been full of greenery. According to data from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, at present, the forest and grass vegetation coverage of the Loess Plateau has reached more than 59%.
Mountains, rivers, plateaus, beams, ditches, ravines, ravines... The loess has been around for millions of years. This vast and ancient land is already clear water and blue sky, and the vegetation is lush.
(Participating in the writing: Zhang Bowen, Sun Zhenghao)
(Outlook, Issue 44, 2023)