Green industries propel Donglan's development in past decade

A vineyard in Donglan county. [Photo/Guangxi Daily]

Since 2012, Hechi's Donglan county has developed green industries based on its rich green resources, which has propelled local economic development and increased the income of residents.

Camellia oleifera is a special agricultural product of Donglan county. Since 2017, the county has promoted the construction of high-standard camellia oleifera planting bases. To date, 59 bases with an area of more than 300 mu (20 hectares) have been built in the county, while the total planting scale of camellia oleifera has reached 310,000 mu. As a local green industry, its output value reached 221 million yuan ($30.75 million) in 2021, helping more than 37,000 local households to increase their incomes.

Over the past 10 years, the county has implemented ecological protection projects, such as the Pearl River protective forest project and the returning farmland to forests campaign. The county's forest coverage rate has reached 84.25 percent, the content of negative oxygen ions in the air has reached the first level, and the excellent air quality rate has reached more than 90 percent.

In addition, Donglan county is home to three national 4A tourist attractions, four 3A tourist attractions, and one four-star rural tourist area. From 2021 to the first half of 2022, it received 4.1 million tourists, realizing a total tourism consumption income of 4.9 billion yuan.

Relying on the advantages of its green ecological resources, the county has built up six traditional industries, including black bone chicken, pigs, beef cattle, mutton sheep, black rice, and fishery. It has also strengthened three pillar industries, including silkworms, chestnuts, and camellia oleifera, as well as developed three emerging industries, including edible fungi, Chinese herbal medicine, and orchids. In 2021, the collective economic income of 150 administrative villages and communities in the county reached more than 50,000 yuan, with the total income exceeding 16 million yuan.

Relying on its green industries to promote high-quality economic development, the county's GDP has increased from 2.15 billion yuan to 5.06 billion yuan over the past decade, an increase of 88.8 percent. In addition, its fiscal revenue has increased from 121 million yuan to 378 million yuan, an increase of 189.5 percent.

During that period, the per capita disposable income of its urban residents increased from 14,804 yuan to 28,804 yuan, an increase of 115.2 percent, while the per capita disposable income of its rural residents increased from 4,412 yuan to 10,768 yuan, an increase of 173.3 percent.