Poverty to prosperity: Bijie in SW China's Guizhou embarks on new development path

After over 30 years of unremitting efforts, Bijie city in southwest China's Guizhou Province has undergone a remarkable transformation, moving from poverty to moderate prosperity in all respects while significantly improving its environmental conditions.

Currently, Bijie is striving to build itself into a demonstration zone characterized by prosperity, ecological beauty, and vitality, making new strides on the new journey of the new era.

The municipal government has continued to drive technological innovation and foster new drivers for industrial growth.

Guizhou Lianshang Technology Co., Ltd., a high-tech enterprise in the Bijie High-tech Industrial Development Zone (Bijie high-tech zone), has grown significantly since its establishment in the city in 2015. The company now operates 150 world-leading automated LED filament production lines, with products exported worldwide and annual output value exceeding 100 million yuan ($13.67 million).

Photo shows the workshop of Guizhou Lianshang Technology Co., Ltd. in the Bijie High-tech Industrial Development Zone, Bijie, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Overseas Edition/Yang Junfeng)

The company now produces 3 million LED filaments daily, supplying domestic and international companies, said Dai Xiaoling, an executive of the company.

In less than a decade, the company has risen from a startup to an industry leader. "Our success in forming a 100-million-yuan industry chain is inseparable from the municipal government's support for innovation," said Dai Peng, chairman of the company.

Bijie boasts rich sources of roxburgh roses, which bear small and thorny fruit that is known for its richness in vitamins and high added value. Seeing the potential of the roxburgh rose industry, Guizhou Xinyang Agricultural Science and Technology Development Co. Ltd. established operations in the Bijie high-tech zone in 2011. After more than a decade of development, the company has built a complete industry chain from seedling cultivation to processing and sales.

The company launched its first roxburgh rose juice production line in 2018. It processes 200-400 tonnes of roxburgh rose juice annually, said Chen Yi, an executive of the company.

The company produces diverse roxburgh rose products, which are sold to provincial-level regions in China and countries like the U.K., South Korea, and Japan.

Chen added that the company has collaborated with several universities and research institutes to enhance the quality and competitiveness of roxburgh rose products, so as to better introduce them to the world.

In recent years, Bijie has achieved significant progress in enhancing its ecological environment. For instance, the Caohai National Nature Reserve in Weining Yi, Hui and Miao Autonomous County covers an area of over 120 square kilometers, with a water area of 25 square kilometers. It is an important wintering ground for black-necked cranes, the first-class protected animals in China.

Black-necked cranes fly over Caohai Lake in Weining Yi, Hui and Miao Autonomous County, Bijie, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Photo/Liu Guanghui)

Weining has intensified efforts to protect the nature reserve and implemented multiple measures, improving the ecosystem of the nature reserve and engaging local communities in its conservation, said Zang Ningbo, an official with the management committee of the Caohai National Nature Reserve.

Liu Guanghui, a ranger of the nature reserve's management committee, has protected black-necked cranes for 35 years. The continuous improvement of Caohai's ecological environment provides a more suitable habitat for black-necked cranes, Liu said, adding that 2,829 black-necked cranes overwinter in the nature reserve so far in January 2025, up by 232 from the previous year.

Standing at a viewing platform in Huawu village, Xinren Miao township of Qianxi, a county-level city administered by Bijie, one can take in a breathtaking panorama: the Wumeng Mountains' grand canyon appears as if carved by knives and axes, while the Wujiang River flows serenely. The blue sky, white clouds, crystal waters, and mountains create a magnificent landscape painting.

File photo shows the picturesque view of Huawu village, Xinren Miao township of Qianxi, a county-level city administered by Bijie, southwest China's Guizhou Province.

The village's sound ecological environment is inseparable from favorable policies, said Li Xinghong, deputy head of Xinren township, adding that the village once suffered from rocky desertification.

With a forest coverage rate of over 60 percent, Huawu village now develops thriving tourism by leveraging its sound ecology.

Over the past years, Bijie has actively promoted rural revitalization through industrial development. Chengmanyuan community in Qingshuipu town, Qixingguan district, Bijie has grown fruit trees including citrus and peach trees on over 7,800 mu (520 hectares) of land.

Han Yunxiang showcases oranges at his orchard in Chengmanyuan community, Qingshuipu town, Qixingguan district, Bijie, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Overseas Edition/Yang Junfeng)

Originally called Nanguan village, the community's low altitude and abundant sunlight create perfect conditions for citrus growth, said Han Yunxiang, a local resident who has been actively engaged in the community's efforts to advance all-around rural revitalization.

According to Han, infrastructure improvement in 1988 laid a solid foundation for the development of the citrus industry in the village, and it became one of Bijie's top 50 economically strong villages and was renamed as Chengmanyuan community in 2004.

Last year, the community launched an infrastructure project to support the development of the citrus industry. Thanks to government support for road and irrigation facilities, local resident Meng Xingwu, who grew oranges on 500 mu of wasteland in 2023, now reaps 3 million yuan in revenue per year with an annual investment of 400,000 yuan.

In Taoying village of Nayong county, cherry orchards now cover more than 4,800 mu. The annual output of the cherry industry in the village approaches 28 million yuan, resulting in an increase in villagers' per capita income of 8,700 yuan.

Weining county has boosted all-around rural revitalization through the new energy industry. Das Solar Changtong Renewable Energy (Guizhou) Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Guizhou Changtong Group, is a key player in the Changtong Weining New Energy Industrial Park in the Weining Economic and Technological Development Zone.

In 2024, the production value of photovoltaic modules of Das Solar Changtong Renewable Energy (Guizhou) Co., Ltd. reached 1 billion yuan.

Jiang Lu, formerly a stay-at-home mom, now works at the new energy company: "I earn over 6,000 yuan monthly with food and accommodation provided, and the company is close to my home," Jiang said, adding that she is very satisfied with the job.

"Weining is the most populous county with the highest average altitude and the largest land area in Guizhou. We chose Weining to explore industrial-driven rural revitalization across the board," said Huang Leijin, an executive of Guizhou Changtong Group.

"In 2024, we recruited over 1,000 local rural residents and sent them to our facilities across China to train them as workers in the green industry. This has boosted their incomes and helped advance all-around rural revitalization," Huang said.