Sightseeing Agriculture

In recent years, roads were built connecting nearly all the municipality's villages to hard-surfaced roads, which makes it more convenient for villagers to get to other towns and cities where they can sell their goods and get things they need. It also makes it easier for tourists to get to rural areas which are gifted with numerous historical sites and scenic places. With governmental investment, rural infrastructure, social public services, ecological protection in mountainous areas and the rural industries of the districts and counties including Mentougou, Fangshan, Changping, Shunyi, Huairou, Miyun, Pinggu, Tongzhou, Daxing, and Yanqing have rapidly progressed, bringing more income to the residents there. 

 

    During the Tenth Five-Year Plan, Beijing focused more on eliminating the differences between urban and rural areas and between districts. It speeded up the construction of the rural infrastructure. For the first time in the modern era, governmental investment in Beijing tilted in favour of its rural areas. The investment ratio between the urban and rural areas was adjusted from 80:20 (urban:rural) to 50:50. In 2005, Beijing made a city-level direct capital investment of 15.6 billion yuan (US$1.95 billion) in its suburban areas' development. Beginning in 2004, a total governmental investment of 12.89 billion yuan (US$1.61 billion) was made in rural infrastructural development, accounting for 44.4 percent of total governmental investment. Better communications are being realized between eight new towns and central towns. The total mileage of new and renovated roads was extended to 800 kilometres. Structures of planned new towns' backbone roads have been created and 180 kilometres of newly built or renovated key roads connecting villages have been put into use. All the municipality's administrative villages have been connected with roads. A group of projects focusing on agricultural infrastructure, rural industry, distribution and social services are providing opportunities for villagers to live more modern lives.

 

    From 2004 to 2005, the government invested in 70 agricultural infrastructural projects, 89 rural industrial projects, 35 projects involving logistical bases, wholesale markets for agricultural products, logistical centres, chain supermarkets and trading-industrial-agricultural integration, 96 renovation and expansion projects of rural primary and middle schools, 84 rural health-care projects, 1,486 standard village-level health-care institutions, 24 cultural clubs, libraries and basic cultural projects. Villagers are getting better lives.

 

    In 2005, the citywide planting area for grain totalled 192,000 hectares, increasing 24.4 percent over that of 2004. Grain output was 949,000 tons, increasing 35.3 percent. Sightseeing agriculture, a new industry and an opportunity for Beijing's farmers to make more money, is growing rapidly. In 2005, there were 512 sightseeing agricultural parks, an increase of 30.1 percent over 2004. The income of sightseeing tourism rose to 410 million yuan (US$ 51.25 million), increasing by 49.3 percent. About 8,691 households were opened to folk-custom tourism and received 7.7 million guests, an increase of 28.4 percent. Income from the seed sector rose to 590 million yuan (US$73.73 million), 35.6 percent more than in 2004.