Development of Rural Characteristic Industries under the Background of Beautiful Countryside
——A Case Study of Wanan County of Jiangxi Province

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College of City Construction, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, China

Abstract In this paper, Wanan County of Jiangxi Province was taken as an example to analyze the achievements and difficulties in the process of rural characteristic industries. In the context of beautiful countryside, it is necessary to maintain development advantages, transform development disadvantages, strengthen rural infrastructure construction, attract investment, vigorously introduce professional talents, explore more industrial models with the support of the government, and promote the stable and healthy development of characteristic industries.

Key words Beautiful countryside, Characteristic industries, Wanan County of Jiangxi Province

1 Introduction

The concept of "beautiful villages" put forward at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China portrays a beautiful blueprint for rural development[1], which is of great significance to the construction of new countryside. In the construction of new countryside, Wan’an County of Jiangxi Province, as a poverty-stricken county for many years, has achieved fruitful results. On July 29, 2018, it won the battle against poverty, officially separated from poverty-stricken counties, and began a new historical journey[2].

Rural industry is an important research issue in rural areas and has a positive effect on rural development. Foreign governments have widely adopted industrial agglomeration strategies to develop rural industry. Industrial agglomeration has an important impact on promoting rural economic progress, improving employment level, promoting urban-rural integration, and strengthening investment attraction[3]. Industrial agglomeration, as the name implies, is the state of aggregation of an industry in a specific area, and is conducive to maximizing and efficient use of resources. Characteristic industries have something in common with this, and one or several advantageous industries are selected to form a characteristic industrial cluster to help rural economic development.

2 General situation of Wan’an

2.1Geographicalconditionsandclimatecharacteristics

Wan’an County is located in the south-central part of Jiangxi Province. It is connected to Xingguo County of Ganzhou City in the east, is adjacent to Ganxian District and Nankang District of Ganzhou City in the south, borders Suichuan County of Ji’an City in the west, and is bounded on the north by Taihe County of Ji’an City. It spans 47 km from east to west and 65.5 km from north to south. It has a vast territory and administers 9 towns and 7 townships. Most of the county is covered by low-middle hillsides and hills. It is high in the southeast, southwest and northwest, and it slowly inclines. Because the Ganjiang River crosses the county, the river system is developed, and the rivers are distributed in a crisscross pattern in the county[4].

Wan’an County has a subtropical monsoon climate, so it has characteristics of mild and humid climate, plentiful rainfall, long light duration, and shorter spring and autumn than winter and summer. Sufficient light is conducive to the rapid growth of thermophilic crops such as rice and peanut. At the same time, the short winter makes autumn-sown crops not face the risk of frostbite. The developed water system and high forest coverage provide good ecological conditions. Therefore, Wan’an has superior agricultural climatic resources.

2.2Characteristicindustriesandtheirdevelopmentstatus

Wan’an, as a poverty-stricken county for a long time, is a key county for national poverty alleviation and development and an extension county for large-scale development policies in western China[1]. Therefore, "poverty alleviation" has always been an important goal of Wan"an. Over the years, Wan’an has taken agriculture as the primary industry and developed industry and tourism at the same time.

In response to the beautiful rural strategy, Wan’an has developed a characteristic industry based on peasant paintings. Each village has formed various industrial contents with characteristics, such as Lijia Village with a long history of bamboo culture, Guzhong Village known for its art, and Nanyang Village famous for its tea[5]. Over the years, in the construction of beautiful villages, Wan’an has insisted on retaining the original ecology , and invested in the unique characteristic industry of each village. Gaopo Town, as the first batch of characteristic towns in Jiangxi Province, has obtained remarkable achievements. Wan’an of Jiangxi is making every effort to create a beautiful village as "a model of Jiangxi".

3 Advantages and disadvantages of development of characteristic industries in Wan’an

3.1Advantages

3.1.1Cornerstone——profound cultural deposits. The folk painting in Wan’an County has a long history. During the Tang and Song dynasties, it began in the form of sculptures and murals. During the Yuan and Ming dynasties, it had its heyday, and the paintings appeared in the form of New Year pictures, art paper-cuts, and portraits of various gods. Moreover, architectural sculpture is more lively and vivid. After the Qing dynasty, the painter’s vision was more open, and their outstanding works emerged in an endless stream[6]. The long-standing painting culture has laid a solid foundation for Wan’an County to deeply explore local cultural elements to form characteristic industrial culture.

3.1.2Example——the success of Jiangwan Town, Wuyuan County. The characteristic industries of Wan’an have been developed based on the experience of other rural areas. The success of Jiangwan Town, Wuyuan County is a good example. The town used to be a beautiful ordinary village and was not known to the public. In the process of reform, Jiangwan seized the absolute advantages of good scenery, surviving Huizhou ancient village and a long history of traditional theatrical pieces, and developed the tourism characteristic industry with the cultural deposits of Huizhou. The town has become the first batch of characteristic town in the country and has been awarded the title of "national AAAAA tourist attraction". The successful experience of Jiangwan has extremely important reference value for the development of characteristic industries in Wan’an.

3.1.3Impetus——villagers’ enthusiasm for creation. Everything is ready, only the east wind owes. The development of characteristic industries in Wan’an still needs the support of two driving forces. One is the support of relevant policies of the state and the government, and the other is villagers’ enthusiasm for creation. Though Wan’an has been escorted by strategies such as beautiful villages and rural revitalization, local villagers can not lack the enthusiasm for a struggle. The strong local culture cultivates a simple folk style. The villagers love their hometown and are full of hope for reform. They are willing to contribute their own strength to the construction of their hometown. This kind of enthusiasm for creation has greatly promoted the process of characteristic industries in Wan’an.

3.2Disadvantages

3.2.1Backwardness of "hardware". Although the ecological environment is superior in various villages in Wan’an, it is still difficult to change the realistic factors of backward rural conditions. The problems of dirty and mess left over by history are difficult to solve. The backwardness of economy and industry has also restricted the construction of industrial parks and operation of related enterprises. In addition, rural areas pay less attention to public health and environmental cleanliness than cities, and technology is relatively backward; industrial quality safety is often untrustworthy, and public acceptance is relatively low. At present, how to overcome the backwardness of rural "hardware" conditions is of great significance to the development of characteristic industries in Wan’an.

3.2.2Conditionality of lack of funds and talents. The construction of rural industries requires two-way investment of manpower and capital. The backwardness of rural infrastructure makes it not competitive in attracting investment, and due to the slow growth of economy, it is difficult to maintain the development of local industries. In addition to the shortage of funds, the lack of talents has a greater restrictive effect on the development of rural industries in Wan’an. Characteristic industries not only rely on "superior natural climate conditions and geographical environment", but "support of the people" is especially important. However, talents often gather in economically developed urban areas, and there is a shortage of professional talents in rural surplus labor, which has conditionality.

3.2.3Hindering of backward ideas. In Wan’an and other rural areas, the renewal of ideas is slow. The villagers who live on farm work have a limited range of life and a relatively narrow horizon. The backwardness of economy has led to the backwardness of education. The low-educated peasants are more difficult to accept advanced ideas. They are trapped in the status quo because of resistance. The backwardness of ideas and the resistance to new things hinder the progress of rural industries in Wan’an.

4 Suggestions for the development of characteristic industries in Wan’an

4.1Improving"hardware"isaprerequisiteTo develop the industry, the first task is to improve "hardware". As the saying goes, to get rich, it is needed to build roads first. The inconvenience of transportation is extremely unfavorable to the promotion of characteristic industries in Wan’an. Therefore, it is of vital importance to strengthen traffic construction and improve the smoothness of travel. While improving traffic conditions, health service teams should be set up to keep roads and other public environments clean and tidy. There is a large flow of people around industrial zones, and infrastructure construction should be strengthened. For instance, public toilets, restrooms and other places should be built to ensure convenient services. Only by having a high "hardware" configuration can it increase public acceptance and be trusted.

4.2Enhancing"charm"isthekeyA characteristic industry is not limited to the inside of rural areas. Only when it can introduce outside investment, purchase, visit,etc. can it be truly developed, which needs to enhance its attractiveness. On the one hand, it is needed to rely on local government’s policy support to enhance the "charm" of industry, and to enhance the attractiveness of industry by giving appropriate preferential policies to investors and returning entrepreneurs. On the other hand, good publicity can have a multiplier effect. Then, workers engaged in characteristic industries will guide talents to enter the business, and gradually expand their influence. The "charm" of characteristic industries is of great significance for attracting investment and introducing talents.

4.3ThoughtprogressisindispensableGood business and innovative entrepreneurial atmosphere provide a good development environment for regional industrial development. Therefore, the new ideas of industry should be publicized first in villages of Wan’an through broadcasting and brochures to make the concept be deeply rooted in the hearts of people and guide more villagers to join the construction of characteristic industries. Secondly, through the speeches and calls of successful entrepreneurs, villagers’ enthusiasm for creation is stimulated. In addition, students’ thoughts affect the thinking of a family. Schools should set up relevant entrepreneurship courses to spread new ideas of innovation and entrepreneurship to students and then promote the thought progress of a family and eliminate internal obstacles for the development of characteristic industries.

5 Conclusions

During the development of characteristic industries dominated by peasant paintings in Wan’an, the local green ecological landscape and historical and cultural memories are preserved, and various scenic tourist attractions with characteristics have been built to promote economic growth by cultivating oil tea and other green industries. Under the background of beautiful villages, more than 500 beautiful villages have been built in the county under the planning of "artery town, global tourism", and the villagers have realized the beautiful life of "seeing green everywhere"[5]. At present, characteristic industries in Wan’an have both advantages and disadvantages. How to carry forward the advantages and overcome the disadvantages is the key to its future development. Comprehensively solving the problems of industrial conditions, funds, manpower and ideological status is even more important.