Yu Guicun gets up at around 4:30 every morning. After hastily washing up, he gets on his bike and rides through the village in the dim light of morning, all the way to the back mountain. He didn't work in the fields for long. Around seven o'clock, he would return home, change out

Summer in Yu Guicun rises earlier than the sun.

Every morning at around 4:30, Yu Guicun gets up. After hastily washing up, he gets on his bike and rides through the village in the dim light of morning, all the way to the back mountain. There are several acres of chestnuts on the mountain. It’s time to manage them, step on the dew, pull the weeds, thin the flowers, and pick the heads.

didn't work in the fields for long. Around seven o'clock, he would return home, change out of his dew-wet clothes, put on work clothes, and go to work in a farm restaurant in the village. He could earn three to four thousand yuan a month. Money, this income, is extremely important to this once low-income family, and it is enough to ensure a relatively decent life for their family.

Buri Village is close to Huaijiu River. In the past, chestnut trees were the main industry here. Now the village has developed various industries such as rural tourism and modern planting. Photographed by Beijing News reporter Wang Ying

Juli Village, a village related to coins

Yu Guicun is a native of Juli Village, Jiuduhe Town, Huairou District, Beijing. Starting from the urban area and heading north into the mountains, the winding Huaijiu River flows from It flows out of the mountains in the north, all the way to the south, and merges into the Huairou Reservoir.

Juli Village is located by the Huaijiu River. According to the village secretary, Juli Village got its name from the Ming Dynasty. According to legend, this was the location of the Mint of the Ming Dynasty. After the copper coins were minted here, they were transported all the way to Beijing city and later minted. The Bureau is no longer here, and the place has slowly turned into a village, but the name Bureau has remained.

In the small square of Juli Village, a new copper coin sculpture tells people the ancient and wealthy history of this village. The story of the Mint is too far away from Yu Guicun, but the chestnuts that filled the mountains and fields around the village still brought a lot of income to Yu Guicun and other villagers in Juli Village at the end of the 20th century.

The copper coin sculpture in Juli Village symbolizes the history of Juli Village. Photographed by Beijing News reporter Wang Ying

They never thought that this village, whose name was even related to wealth, would once become a typical low-income village in Beijing. Yu Guicun remembers clearly that in the last few years of the 20th century, chestnuts gradually became less expensive and people's incomes also decreased. Outside the village, industrial development and urban expansion have also caused this remote agricultural village to gradually lag behind on the road to development.

In 2016, Beijing identified 234 low-income villages. Based on the standard of annual per capita household income of 11,160 yuan, 73,000 low-income rural households and 156,000 people were identified. Juli Village is a typical representative among them. Village cadres told reporters that at that time, Juli Village identified 161 low-income farmers, accounting for half of the 360 ​​households in the village.

Juli Village, nestled among mountains and rivers, was once a low-income village. Now it has got rid of low income and embarked on the road of revitalization. Photo by Beijing News reporter Wang Ying

Yu Guicun’s family is a low-income farmer. He has two daughters, one is married and the other is still in school. Yu Guicun’s wife needs medical treatment all year round because of illness. Most of the time, she lives in Daughter's house.

The income from agriculture is far from being able to cover the family's expenses. Yu Guicun told reporters that the family's more than two acres of chestnuts produce more than 300 kilograms of chestnuts a year when they are small. The income is about nothing. In the past few years, Yu Guicun worked odd jobs outside all year round. But as I grow older, it becomes harder and harder to find work.

The beginning of getting rid of low income

In 2016, after Beijing recognized low-income villages, a large number of assistance policies began to be implemented. Yu Guicun got a position at a public welfare post, responsible for the village's sanitation, security and other work. Every month he could provide He brings in more than 4,000 yuan in income.

But only public welfare posts cannot completely solve the income problem of more than 160 households in the village. The development of the village requires sustainable industries to bring new vitality to this traditional agricultural village.

In 2018, the four teams of Beijing held an on-site meeting on the work of assisting low-income farmers in Juli Village. This became another node in the changes of Juli Village. That year, the first boutique B&B "Bureau" belonging to the collective was opened in the village. The construction of "Li Brick House" began.Zhao Jianchen, the current first secretary of Juli Village, told reporters that the B&B was built with the help of the Beijing Architectural Design and Research Institute. It was also the village’s first collective economic project after the detachment began. “There is no collective land in Juli Village. In the past, village collectives basically Without any income, it is almost impossible to afford the construction of public facilities and public services in the village, and lacks the ability to help the villagers. "

Bureau Village lacks land. Except for the chestnut trees on the mountains, there is only a small part of the river bend for watering. land for villagers to grow vegetables. Photo by Beijing News reporter Wang Ying.

B&B is located in the center of Juli Village. It was renovated from an idle collective yard. It has red bricks for the walls and gray tiles for the roof. It "combines Beijing's traditional architectural style and modern minimalist design." elements." Zhao Jianchen introduced. After the B&B was built, due to the lack of management talents in the village, the operation was entrusted to a professional company. Even so, the village collective could receive a fixed rental income every year, and the B&B would also employ villagers and provide them with employment opportunities.

The operation of the first B&B attracted villagers to follow suit. 41-year-old Zhang Aijuan originally ran a small courtyard at home. Unlike today's boutique B&Bs, the original small courtyard was closer to the form of a traditional farmhouse. After the "Brick House" was built, Zhang Aijuan also began to renovate her yard, improve quality, and design standardized services.

Returning entrepreneur who started a new life

After the Dragon Boat Festival, the new round of epidemic in Beijing gradually eased, and people began to leave the sweltering city and buildings in search of the cool summer days among the mountains and rivers.

Zhang Aijuan has also begun to prepare to welcome new guests. After the spring of this year, her third courtyard will be renovated and ready to receive guests. The sudden epidemic interrupted her plan. Fortunately, the epidemic will eventually pass, and the future will still be worthwhile. expect.

Zhang Aijuan likes mountains and mountain villages. When she was a child, when she went to her grandmother’s house in the village, she would always climb the highest mountain outside the village. After getting married, Zhang Aijuan and her husband rented a yard to run a bed and breakfast near Jiudu River Town, which was closer to the nearby Huanghuacheng Water Wall Scenic Area. It was not that they had never thought about returning to their village to open a bed and breakfast, but the bureau was not there. On the only way to the scenic spot, a B&B alone is not enough to attract guests.

After 2016, with the development of Bureau Village, more and more resources were developed. Zhang Aijuan decided to retire from her original house and return to the village to renovate her old house. In 2018, the completion of the "brick house" gave her the idea of ​​upgrading her courtyard.

It was the first time to run a boutique B&B. Zhang Aijuan, who was inexperienced, basically had no awareness of cost control. “Everything, from bricks to furniture and even small ornaments, I bought one by one. The final The cost was way beyond the budget," she said.

However, the high cost of renovation also brought her considerable rewards. The upgraded and renovated B&B attracted more tourists and the price became higher. In 2019, the first courtyard began to make money, and Zhang Aijuan began to renovate the second courtyard. By 2021, the construction of the third courtyard will also begin.

Zhang Aijuan, who returned to her hometown to start a business, opened three small B&Bs in the village. She also transferred the land and planned to open a picking garden of her own. Photo by Beijing News reporter Wang Ying

Throughout Juli Village, more and more villagers have joined the ranks of operating B&Bs. Zhao Jianchen said that by May 2022, there will be more than 30 B&Bs in operation in the village. It is operated by more than 20 people, with a 400-square-meter yard and a yearly net profit of more than 200,000. More villagers have become service providers in the B&B and found new jobs at their doorsteps.

A lively early morning in the village

Yu Guicun was employed by a B&B at the entrance of the village. The owner of the B&B was a villager. As early as more than ten years ago, he started running a farmhouse, operating accommodation and catering, and also breeding rainbow trout.

In 2022, Yu Guicun will be sixty years old and can receive rural pension. According to regulations, he cannot continue to participate in public welfare work. The village cadre introduced him to a B&B in the village, where he found a new job.

At around seven o'clock in the morning, Yu Guicun finished his work in the fields, went home and changed into work clothes, and went to work before eight o'clock.In the early morning, the village gradually became lively. When passing by the entrance of the village committee, 55-year-old Yu Shijun had already finished transporting a garbage truck and was organizing the villagers on the public welfare post to clean along the alleys.

Over the past few years, Bureau Village has become a lot cleaner. This is related to the public welfare post in the village. For a low-income family like Yu Shijun, the salary of this job that does not require leaving the village is not high, but it is enough to give him his current salary. Makes a huge difference in life.

More than a dozen villagers who participated in the public welfare work were scattered into small alleys. The sound of brooms sweeping the floor could be heard in each alley. People in the alleys also began to go out to work. Some people carried buckets and fertilizers, and helped the ground. The vegetables inside are being fertilized and watered, and some people are wearing work clothes and walking to the B&B where they work.

Unlike most hollow villages, Juli Village has many residents. The village has a registered population of 683, including 509 permanent residents. This may be related to the convenient transportation here. Huaichang Road at the entrance of the village is directly connected to Daguang Expressway , it takes more than an hour to reach downtown Beijing. Many young people working in the city will return to the village at night. People who work in surrounding scenic spots or in Huairou urban areas are more accustomed to leaving early and returning late. Most elderly people stay in the village to farm, take care of their children, or work in B&Bs.

The liveliness of Bureau Village starts in the morning and lasts until evening. After dinner, the villagers go home to rest, and the tourists staying there have to play for a long time.

Families transformed by industry

Every day, Yu Shijun has to transport garbage three times, once in the morning, noon and evening. He transports the trash cans from all over the village to the garbage station outside the village, and then pulls the empty trash cans back.

Yu Shijun has a family of five, and currently he is the only labor force. His father is 82 years old. Although he can move around well, he has long been unable to do physical work. His wife has been sick all year round, and his two daughters have just graduated from college and can only support themselves. Own.

Yu Shijun's wife is in poor health, and his father, who is over 80 years old, relies on Yu Shijun alone to support him at home. The charity post arranged for him by the village has reduced the burden on the family. Photo by Beijing News reporter Wang Ying

The more difficult time was when the two daughters were studying. There was little land in the mountain village. Yu Shijun’s family only had more than three acres of land, more than two acres of which were chestnut trees on the mountain, and more than one acre of land on the edge of the village. In those years, chestnut trees were almost unprofitable on irrigated land. One acre of irrigated land to grow corn could be sold for more than 1,000 yuan a year. Yu Shijun's source of support for his family was all in the mountains.

There are medicinal materials and pecans on the mountain. As long as you are willing to work hard, you can get some money. Yu Shijun has been looking for a life in the mountains since he got married at the age of 22. For a while, the price of pecans was good, which increased Yu Shijun's income a lot. But soon, the price dropped. At the cheapest time, dried pecans It was only 9 cents per pound. At that time, Yu Shijun's two daughters were in college.

During that time, Yu Shijun would go up the mountain every day. When he went up the mountain, his clothes were soaked with dew. When he went down the mountain, his clothes were soaked with sweat again. When it rained, Yu Shijun couldn't tell which was rain and which was sweat. At most, one day To pick more than 3,000 kilograms of pecans, he had to carry baskets of pecans down the mountain.

The low-income policy brought new hope to Yu Shijun. He not only participated in the village's public welfare work, but also participated in the management of more than ten acres of model farmland in the village.

The model field is a modern agricultural industry developed in the village, village cadres introduced it. In 2020, the village obtained a low-income industry support fund and found more than 10 local white pear trees in villagers' homes. This white pear was once famous in the capital, but later became increasingly rare and almost extinct. The village collective found the few remaining old trees and transferred farmers' land to re-graft 120 acres of saplings. It takes about three years for these saplings to bear fruit, and it is estimated that the yield per mu can reach 400,000 kilograms. At the same time, the village also introduced 20 acres of Beijing geographical indication product "Fojian Xili" to enrich the variety of fruit trees in the village.

As a low-income household, the fruit groves managed by Yu Shijun are these newly planted cash crops. All the costs of introduction and planting are borne by the village collective, and they are responsible for management.Zhang Aijuan, the owner of

B&B, has transferred more than two acres of land to plant fruit trees with the village. She wants to enrich her B&B by adding picking items to attract more tourists.

The farmhouse at the entrance of the village has become popular again

Sixty-year-old Yu Guicun can no longer participate in charity work and has no more energy to manage the orchard, but his work in the B&B has also provided him with a lot of income.

The B&B where Yu Guicun works is at the entrance of the village, facing the road and backed by the Huaijiu River. After coming out of the village and crossing a cement bridge, this is where he works.

60-year-old Yu Guicun (wearing camouflage uniform) found a job in the village, which gave his family with a meager income an opportunity to get out of trouble. Photographed by Beijing News reporter Wang Ying

This is a farmhouse that has been in operation for more than ten years. After renovation and upgrade, it became a B&B. The yard is large, the door is open, and there are buildings on both sides of the yard. You can stay upstairs and have dining downstairs. , a promenade was built on the other side, where visitors can dine in the summer. In the middle of the yard is a separate pool, which is home to Huairou's famous rainbow trout and sturgeon. Shan Linqi, the owner of

B&B, told reporters that the yard was built in 2003 and was originally just a roadside restaurant. In 2010, when farmhouses were still very popular, they added accommodation. It was once very popular and rooms could not be booked often. However, with the rise of boutique B&Bs, the business of traditional farmhouses is getting worse and worse. By 2018, there were almost no guests staying.

"At that time, the environment in the village was not as good as it is now, and the hardware of the rooms could not keep up, so it could not attract guests." Shan Linqi said that later, the village developed better and better, and there were more and more B&Bs. They She has renovated and upgraded her guest rooms. Today's compound has the characteristics of a farmhouse in the past, as well as modern guest rooms. "When the epidemic is not affected, there are indeed more guests than before." She said.

During the peak tourist season, Yu Guicun will arrive here before eight o'clock in the morning, eat breakfast, and start preparing for the day's work. Yu Guicun is responsible for fishing, weighing, and processing the fish before sending them to the kitchen. When the pond is full of fish, tourists will choose which one to order. He just fishes for whatever he wants. The job is simple and doesn't require much labor, but it's very time-consuming. He often works until after eight or nine o'clock in the evening.

In the era of revitalization, every day is different

At the end of 2020, Bureau Village took off its hat and completely bid farewell to the low-income era. The 160 low-income families in the village all have per capita annual income exceeding the low-income standard.

For Yu Guicun and Yu Shijun, the change in their lives goes far beyond an increase in income. Yu Shijun had just renovated his house. This house was built with borrowed money in 2002 and cost Yu Shijun more than 60,000 yuan. It took Yu Shijun 15 years to pay off the money. After the house was built, they had no money to renovate it, so they lived under unpainted cement walls for nearly 20 years. It was not until their two children graduated and Yu Shijun had a new job and income that they renovated their house for the first time. .

Yu Guicun's house was renovated. The old house had already become a dilapidated house. During the process of detachment, Yu Guicun's house complied with the policy of renovating dilapidated rural housing. After receiving government subsidies, a new house was built.

The new house is very spacious. Although Yu Guicun is the only one at home most of the time, it is still kept clean. Every flower pot in the living room grows extremely lush. This busy sixty-year-old man only has time to clean up his house and take care of the flowers in the flower pots after returning home from get off work every night. However, he is not bored and always greets anyone he sees with a smile.

Yu Shijun is also very busy. After pulling away the last cart of garbage at night, he has to patrol the village. The villagers on the public welfare post are responsible for the environment of the village. In addition to his own responsibility, Yu Shijun also It is necessary to inspect the whole village. "Now that the environment of the village is better and there are more tourists, the environment must be improved even more. We cannot let tourists come once and then never want to come again," he said.

In 2022, rural revitalization is advancing rapidly, and this small mountain village in the north of Beijing is on the road to revitalization after getting rid of low income.Zhao Jianchen, the first secretary of Bureau Village, told reporters that modern agriculture and homestay tourism in the village are developing rapidly. The village is also planning a country hotel to enrich the tourism industry. There are also many plans being implemented in terms of public facilities construction and public service improvement. The Bureau Village of the future may be different every day.

Their hometown is becoming beautiful

In more formerly low-income villages, emerging rural industries are also developing rapidly. Data from the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs show that in terms of the primary industry, Beijing’s grain and vegetable sown area , pig inventory, , etc. have reversed the downward trend in 2020 and stopped falling and rebounded. The seed industry related to modern agriculture is one of the business cards of Beijing agriculture. As part of urban agriculture, industries such as agricultural tourism, leisure and agricultural tourism experience are constantly changing the face of Beijing's countryside.

For example, leisure agriculture. Before Juli Village, the homestay industry had already taken shape in Huairou, Yanqing, Mentougou and other places in Beijing, and formed special brands such as "Mentougou Xiaoyuan+". In the "Beijing 14th Five-Year Plan", the indicators for industrial prosperity are also being continuously achieved. In 2021, Beijing's leisure agriculture and rural tourism operating income reached 3.25 billion yuan. Leisure agriculture drove agricultural product sales revenue of 1.01 billion yuan, driving 33,800 farmer jobs. The per capita disposable income of rural residents was 633,300 yuan, which is 2.16 times that of 2012.

Juli Village is not the only village undergoing revitalization. Today, Juli Village is far from a perfect village. This small mountain village that has just embarked on the road to revitalization still has many things to do and a long way to go. .

When sitting at the dinner table in the evening, Yu Shijun sometimes thought that not long ago, he was still trudging through the slippery mountain road in dew and sweat every day to pay for his children's tuition. But now, everything has changed. There is no need to climb mountain roads many times a day, and there is no need to brave the heat and cold to search for mountain products that cost a few cents a pound. He did not leave the village, but the village had changed. He was still living in the hometown where he grew up, but his life was slowly getting better.

Beijing News reporter Zhou Huaizong

editor Tang Zheng proofreader Lu Qian