Better lives are the essence of China's development

As a journalist who has grown up and settled in urban areas my entire adult life, interview-based trips have long been the only chance for me to make grounded observations of China's rural life and agricultural development. My earlier life as a journalist has constantly brought me into areas of the least-developed rural areas. Partially because of how strongly rural areas stand distinctly apart from metropolises, I always find my visits to the countryside impressive and intriguing.

The past three years of COVID-19 frequently prevented me from traveling outside of Beijing. Last month, I took my first week-long business trip in three years across three provinces to once again visit the countryside. The pandemic has impacted economic development almost everywhere, and I was concerned that rural areas would be hampered more severely due to relatively more stressed revenues.

In mid-April, I arrived in the countryside of Chengdu, Sichuan province. The province is an important agricultural production base in China and ranks ninth nationwide in grain production. I was introduced to an agriculture exhibition area surrounded by vast cultivated land located more than 50 miles from central Chengdu.

As I was visiting, I was among a group of tourists instead of farmers, who were posing and taking many photos with their smartphones. Kids were having a carnival with plants and food products displayed in a round-shaped indoor exhibition hall. It felt like I was at a scenic spot rather than farmland.

I later learned that springtime is the best season for urban residents in Chengdu to spend their weekends in the area. The Xinjin agriculture garden and exhibition house that I was visiting also has homes and hotel rooms for short- and long-term homestays and rural experiences.

Xie Liusheng, a staff member at the agriculture exhibition resort, said that the entire resort project's completion was supported by funds released from last year's special local government bonds. Construction of the project started in 2019 and its building was later supported by funds released from the special local government bonds in 2020 and 2021.

"Especially during the pandemic, when urban residents in Chengdu looked for an outdoor place of leisure for a weekend or holidays, choices were limited. Now, the resort is less than an hour's drive from downtown Chengdu and children can learn about agriculture from a fun tour," Xie said.

After three years of weekends and holidays spent in China's capital city of Beijing, I could empathize with what he shared with me. Projects that were built in the past three years under public fiscal funds not only serve to meet the essential needs of the people, but more importantly, some have made their lives better and more fun now that COVID-19 is no longer a significant threat. In my opinion, making lives better is the essence of China's high-quality development drive.