On May 7th, a research and observation tour as part of the "'Shan'liang Villages, 'Benxian' Together" initiative, which brought together artists, online influencers, and media hosts to "Enter Yongshou and Witness New Developments in Rural Revitalization," arrived at Zhaili Village in Yongshou County, Xianyang City. The focus was on how the village transformed its "barren land" into "gold" through the development of specialty industries.
The Chinese Medicinal Herb Plantation in Zhaili Village has awakened the dormant land, putting the small mountain village on the fast track for developing its specialty industries. In the past, villagers in Zhaili faced steep mountains, difficult roads, and relied entirely on traditional farming—a true depiction of "depending on the heavens for a living." With limited conditions in the traditional agricultural village and few avenues for increasing income, young and able-bodied laborers had to seek work elsewhere, leaving the village to gradually fade into silence over time.
In 2021, Zhaili Village was designated as a rural revitalization demonstration village for Yongshou County. Riding the momentum of the national rural revitalization strategy, this once obscure mountain village seems to have been put on "fast-forward." It is now developing with a vigorous spirit, integrating agriculture and tourism, and undergoing a remarkable transformation concerning land, industry, and dreams.
"One significant opportunity was Yongshou County's vigorous development of the greenhouse vegetable industry and the construction of high-standard apple demonstration orchards. The village seized the moment, introduced enterprises, transferred land use rights, and gradually established large-scale vegetable and fruit greenhouses and high-standard apple demonstration orchards," said Wang Wenhua, the Party Secretary of Zhaili Village.
Today, the herbal fragrance of the Chinese Medicinal Herb Wellness Garden, the childlike fun of the Gray Rabbit Breeding Experience Park, the bountiful harvest of the Apple Demonstration Orchard, and the fresh aroma of the Greenhouse Fruit and Vegetable Picking Garden constitute Zhaili Village's four major specialty industrial parks. By innovatively implementing a development mechanism of "Party Branch + Company + Collective Economy + Farmers," land has been transferred, incomes have increased, and unity has been strengthened. This model has not only significantly improved land use efficiency but also increased the average annual income of 220 households by over 2,800 yuan, with the village's collective annual economic income exceeding 500,000 yuan.
Products have become commodities, enriching the villagers. Countryside has become parks, beautifying the village. The research team strolled along the village roads, walking on flat and clean cement paths and seeing well-arranged farmhouse courtyards. Streetlights stood tall, flowers and plants were fragrant, and the former "dirty, messy, and poor" conditions were completely gone. Even more impressive is Zhaili Village's meticulously created "Seven Scenes of Zhaili"—the Hundred Herbs Zhaili Archway, Rainbow Bridge, Fushou Square, Moon Gate, Cultural Corridor, and others—perfectly blending rural landscapes with cultural connotations. It is no longer a monotonous village but has become a "hotspot" eagerly visited by tourists.
The villagers living here are the best judges of whether rural revitalization is successful. Ren Pengtao, a villager from Zhaili, said, "My whole family moved from our old cave dwelling, walking on dirt roads and using dry toilets. Now we have moved into new houses in the new rural area. We no longer worry about the safety of living in caves during heavy summer rains. The roads outside are cement, so our feet don't get muddy, we use sanitary toilets, and there are streetlights at night. It's a tremendous change."
Today, Zhaili Village is not just an administrative village in Yongshou County; it is also a 3A-level agriculture-tourism integrated park and a "Thousand Villages Demonstration, Ten Thousand Villages Renovation" project demonstration village in Shaanxi Province. Additionally, it has cultivated 1,800 mu of Chinese medicinal herbs, 300 mu of apples, raised 15,000 gray rabbits, and built 112 mu of fruit and vegetable greenhouses... Behind these numbers are 150 regular employment positions for villagers, over 300 busy figures during the farming seasons, and a per capita annual income of 18,860 yuan.
Since 2021, the village has received a cumulative total of 52,000 tourist visits, generating comprehensive revenue of over 18 million yuan. The transformation of countryside into parks, products into commodities, and nostalgia into economic opportunities, along with the implementation of a series of livelihood projects, has comprehensively strengthened the village's infrastructure. Zhaili Village is truly turning its "green mountains and clear waters" into "gold and silver mountains."
The smiles behind the data are the happy echoes of Yongshou's rural revitalization. Ren Pengtao calculated his family's account of happiness: with six members, the annual per capita income reaches 28,000 yuan. "All the land has been transferred, and we receive stable land transfer income every year. My parents work in the village's industrial parks, earning over 40,000 yuan a year. My wife and I run a decoration store in the county town, and our two children attend Jianjun Middle School and Xinqin Primary School. Life is very convenient."
This sense of happiness has also been keenly observed. "Entering Zhaili Village, the first thing that catches the eye is the excellent hardware environment and the particularly beautiful scenery," said a media representative. "I just chatted with some villagers and found they can work nearby and live a very happy life. This is the most tangible and widespread outcome brought to villagers by Yongshou's application of the 'Thousand Villages Demonstration, Ten Thousand Villages Renovation' project experience and the development of specialty industries."
The life changes of villager Ren Pengtao's family are a microcosm of the tremendous transformation in Yongshou's rural areas. Looking across the entire Yongshou County, such changes are occurring: in 2025, the per capita disposable income of rural residents in Yongshou County was 17,075 yuan, with the growth rate ranking first in Xianyang City; in the first quarter of 2026, the growth rate was 7.3%, ranking second in Xianyang City.
"Moving forward, Yongshou County aims to build a demonstration zone for practicing the 'Two Mountains' theory in northern Shaanxi, create a supply base for famous and high-quality agricultural products, a new circular and low-carbon industrial cluster, and an ecological locust hometown health and wellness tourism destination. It will focus on learning and applying the 'Thousand Villages Demonstration, Ten Thousand Villages Renovation' project experience, promoting comprehensive rural revitalization, and closely following five key tasks: ensuring food security, consolidating poverty alleviation achievements, advancing industrial development, strengthening rural construction, and promoting farmers' income growth. Efforts will be made to strengthen leading enterprises, complete industrial chains, develop new formats, and build brands, striving by all means to increase agricultural efficiency, enhance rural vitality, and raise farmers' incomes," said Hao Nana, Deputy Director of the Yongshou County Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau.