Where to begin
"How to revitalize dormant red heritage, strengthen our unique ecological foundation, expand distinctive rural industries, and boost incomes for local residents has always been our core development challenge." Speaking about the future of Nanliang Town, Zhang Jianzheng, Party Secretary of Nanliang Town in Huachi County, Qingyang City, Gansu Province, stated that while significant progress has been made in recent years, there is still considerable room for industrial upgrading compared to advanced townships across the country.
Nanliang is the birthplace of the Shaanxi-Gansu Border Region Soviet Government, dotted with red historical sites, boasting superior mountain ecological resources, and benefiting from a series of policies for the revitalization of old revolutionary base areas. This creates a uniquely advantageous development environment. How can these red resources be activated to deeply integrate the "red" heritage with the "green" ecology? How can strategic planning and practical action forge a new, high-quality development pattern for the old revolutionary base areas? To explore these questions, a reporter recently interviewed Nanliang Town Party Secretary Zhang Jianzheng.
Fusion of Red and Green for Empowerment
Q: Nanliang has a profound red cultural heritage. How has the local area leveraged its resource endowments to plan its layout, particularly in activating red resources, arranging leading industries, and promoting rural industrial revitalization? What patterns and results have been achieved through the linkage of red tourism with industries like farming, breeding, and agricultural product processing?
Zhang Jianzheng: Red is Nanliang's most distinctive mark, and ecology is our precious local asset. We have moved beyond a single-industry development approach to build an integrated development system centered on "using red as the soul to attract traffic, using green as the foundation to strengthen industries, and embedding industries within each other to increase income." Closely following the county's "1346" development strategy and its positioning as a cultural tourism town, we have established a development main line of "red as the soul, industrial integration, and income growth across the region." This has created an industrial structure of "tourism-led, farming and breeding-supported, processing value-added, and labor services-supplemented," promoting mutual empowerment and value superposition across various resources.
First, we aim to transform red resources from "check-in spots" into "traffic engines." Nanliang has 43 red historical sites and holds national-level titles such as a National 4A-level Tourist Attraction and a National Classic Red Tourism Site. Following the idea of extending the entire chain of business formats, we have integrated all red nodes across the town, connecting sites like the Long March National Cultural Park, the Martyrdom Site of 42 Warriors at Yanwazi, and the Red No.1 Courtyard to create a contiguous red cultural tourism cluster. We continuously explore the integration path of "red + green" and "culture + agriculture," supporting facilities like fig picking gardens and camping bases. This combines red study tours and party education with eco-tourism and pastoral experiences, changing the superficial tourist visit model and extending the consumption chain. Currently, the town receives over 500 tourists daily on holidays. The flow of cultural tourism visitors consistently benefits village collectives, generating additional annual income of over 50,000 yuan for each. This transforms red resources from historical symbols into wealth-creating capital.
Second, we are upgrading specialized farming and breeding from "scattered formats" into an "industrial matrix." Leveraging the mountain ecological conditions, we have implemented a differentiated development strategy based on a "one belt, two zones, three bases" spatial layout and the "one village, one product" concept. Focusing on high-quality grains, ecological livestock farming, Chinese medicinal herbs, and specialty cash crops, we are nurturing four leading industries: white pumpkin seeds, beef cattle, edible fungi, and medicinal herbs. We have designated a 10-kilometer demonstration belt for medicinal herb planting, two functional zones, and three standardized farming and breeding bases to achieve a partitioned layout with complementary advantages. Currently, the town's medicinal herb planting area reaches 10,000 mu, white pumpkin seeds cover 13,000 mu, and cattle and sheep numbers are steadily increasing, driving an average annual income increase of 8,000 yuan per household, converting ecological advantages into income growth.
Finally, we are helping local agricultural products move away from the predicament of "raw material export" to create regional specialty brands. The town has engaged with multiple market entities, establishing a "farmer + cooperative + leading enterprise" benefit linkage mechanism for sorting, fine processing, and gift box packaging of grains, edible fungi, and white pumpkin seeds. Leveraging the "Nanliang Red" public IP to build local brands, Nanliang white pumpkin seeds have obtained National Grade A Green Food certification. Over ten types of agricultural specialty products are sold across the country via scenic area shops and online e-commerce platforms. Annual processing and sales revenue for agricultural products reaches 2.9 million yuan, extending the cultural tourism consumption chain and achieving a dual breakthrough in industrial value addition and brand upgrading.
Addressing Development Gaps
Q: Considering the county's planning and the location characteristics of the old revolutionary base area, what is Nanliang's medium to long-term strategy for coordinating industrial synergy and filling regional economic gaps? What practical measures have been implemented to address uneven development between towns and villages?
Zhang Jianzheng: Constrained by mountainous geographical conditions, Nanliang faces shortcomings such as scattered industrial layout, short industrial chains, and relatively single business formats. To address this, we have determined a tiered development path: "first extend the chain and improve quality, then strengthen the foundation, and finally achieve balanced development across the region." We are steadily filling weaknesses and exploring a balanced development path suitable for the old revolutionary base area.
First, extending the chain to improve quality and strong leading industries. We will continue to solidify the foundation of farming and breeding, promote high-standard farmland and comprehensive soil erosion control projects, having already completed 6,000 mu of sloping farmland management to secure the food security底线. We will adopt standardized, brand-oriented farming and breeding, expand the "one village, one product" cluster, extend the agricultural product processing chain, and unify fine processing and packaging standards to increase product value. Simultaneously, we will upgrade the red cultural tourism formats, shifting the development model from simple site visits to study tours, eco-leisure, and pastoral picking, linking these points into a comprehensive tourism circuit. This aims to solve problems like short tourist stays and insufficient secondary consumption.
Second, strengthening the foundation and improving urban-rural infrastructure. In recent years, the town has implemented 59 projects with a total investment of 71.33 million yuan. This includes completing 15 rural housing renovations, repairing 22 kilometers of roads damaged by water, and building 12 kilometers of new village-level gravel roads. We have normalized ecological management, with town and village river chiefs conducting regular patrols. Four waste film recycling centers have been established, collecting and recycling 1,856 tons of straw and film residue. The continuous improvement of the living environment provides solid support for long-term industrial development.
Third, coordinating linkages to promote collaborative progress across the region. Each village leverages its resource endowments for differentiated development: Liyuanpu Village focuses on "red and green" integrated cultural tourism, Gaotai Village specializes in large-scale white pumpkin seed planting, and Baimamiao Village develops beef cattle farming and specialty planting. This ensures every village has a main industry and every household has income channels. We implement a mechanism where strong villages help weaker ones, utilizing Liyuanpu's visitor sources and channel advantages to drive surrounding villages and share development dividends, narrowing the development gap. Resource elements are increasingly tilted towards remote villages and groups, improving facilities like industrial roads and agricultural product drying grounds, and conducting skills training to address talent shortages. Furthermore, relying on disaster relocation programs, we revitalize idle rural houses and abandoned farmland, cultivating small-scale income-generating businesses. We have completed the relocation of 77 households, ensuring stable prosperity for the people.
Targeting Precision Investment Attraction
Q: As a township in an old revolutionary base area, what opportunities and challenges does Nanliang face in attracting investment and engaging external capital? What is the main direction for future investment attraction?
Zhang Jianzheng: Nanliang has a high red-profile recognition, excellent ecological resources, and benefits from policies for the revitalization of old revolutionary base areas, providing a good foundation for investment attraction. However, objective conditions such as the mountainous location, industrial scale, talent pool, and fiscal capacity also present significant challenges. Opportunities and difficulties coexist.
In terms of opportunities: First, the brand advantage is prominent, with titles like the National "Two Mountains" Practice and Innovation Base and the National Key Rural Tourism Town, and the radiation power of the red brand continues to rise. Second, policies are densely supportive, with national and provincial/municipal governments issuing numerous support policies for red tourism, rural revitalization, and old revolutionary base areas. Third, the ecological endowment is excellent, with a forest and grass coverage rate of 84.6%, suitable for developing study tours, health and wellness, and specialty agricultural product processing. Fourth, transportation is continuously improving. The Taihua Expressway is about to open, gradually breaking down external transportation bottlenecks, while cultural tourism supporting facilities are improving, enhancing the capacity to undertake projects.
The challenges are equally clear: Located in the mountainous border area of Shaanxi and Gansu, far from central cities, logistics costs are high, making it difficult to attract large, heavy-asset processing projects. The overall scale of specialty industries is small, with insufficient industrial chain extension and limited leading enterprise driving capacity. The cultural tourism formats are characterized by being small, scattered, and weak. There is a severe shortage of professionals in cultural tourism operations, e-commerce marketing, and enterprise management, hindering industrial upgrading.
For future investment attraction, we adhere to the principle of "red-based, ecology-first, precision investment, and quality over quantity," focusing on four major tracks. First, upgrade red cultural tourism by introducing projects for immersive experiences, high-end homestays, cultural and creative products, and study course development. Second, expand agricultural product deep processing by attracting projects for fine processing of white pumpkin seeds, grains, and medicinal herbs. Third, cultivate health and wellness leisure by leveraging ecological resources to create pastoral complexes. Fourth, deploy brand e-commerce by introducing professional operations teams to build public brands for Nanliang's cultural and creative products and agricultural products. Currently, the town has engaged with multiple cultural tourism and industrial enterprises, with intended investments reaching 1.5 billion yuan, promoting the implementation of projects like the Nanliang Market, RV Camp, Low-Altitude Economy, and Photovoltaic Corridor, forming a rolling pattern of negotiation, signing, and implementation. During the investment attraction process, we implement special task forces and one-stop "nanny service," promoting chain-based and business-led investment attraction, prioritizing green, low-carbon, high-value-added, and people-benefiting projects. The Guangqing 500,000 kW new energy project and the Nanliang Oilfield 100,000 kW wind power project are planned to be connected to the grid, driving the "red and green" traditional industries and new energy industries forward with a dual-engine approach.
Q: Based on the red heritage and rural revitalization direction, how will Nanliang establish a long-term path of "red empowering industry, industry supporting the old base area" over the next 3-5 years to achieve sustainable development?
Zhang Jianzheng: Over the next 3-5 years, we will closely follow the rural revitalization deployment, focusing on the core idea of red empowerment and industry support. We will coordinate red culture, characteristic industries, ecological management, and people's livelihood, aiming for the goal of becoming a "Red Cultural Tourism Highland, a Demonstration Zone for the Integration of Three Industries, and a Model for Common Prosperity." We will comprehensively allocate resources, break through development bottlenecks, and create a replicable development model for old revolutionary base areas.
First, consolidate the traffic base of red cultural tourism. Relying on the 43 red sites, we will promote the construction of a comprehensive tourism cluster, implement site repairs and exhibition upgrades, create high-quality "red and green" tourism routes, and enrich study and immersive experience formats. We will continue to hold red cultural activities to amplify brand influence, transforming tourist traffic into job opportunities and industrial income, and enhancing Nanliang's influence in the border area of Shaanxi and Gansu.
Second, build a full-chain income-generating industrial pillar. We will maintain the agricultural base, stabilize the scale of grain and specialty cash crop cultivation, and strengthen the advantageous industries of white pumpkin seeds and beef cattle. We will fill industrial chain gaps, promoting the standardization and branding of agricultural products. Using the model of strong villages helping weak ones and the "village collective + cooperative + enterprise" model, we will revitalize idle resources, develop contract farming and rural e-commerce, encourage villages to develop together, and continuously narrow the development gap.
Third, establish a solid foundation for people's livelihood and common prosperity. We will improve the regular monitoring and assistance mechanism to prevent a large-scale return to poverty, ensuring the bottom line is not breached. We will coordinate universal policies for social security, healthcare, elderly care, and education assistance. Relying on labor transfer and public welfare posts, we will build diverse income channels and deepen paired assistance, translating the results of industrial construction into tangible improvements in people's livelihoods and well-being.
Fourth, strengthen the support of development elements across the region. We will continue to advance precision investment attraction, focusing on introducing high-quality projects in cultural tourism, agricultural product processing, and new energy, forming a graded project reserve. We will insist on supplementing talent shortages through external introduction and internal training, lead cadre team building with party building, temper a pragmatic work style, and provide a solid guarantee for the implementation of medium and long-term development goals.