Chongqing launches first digital map of farming heritage

Log onto a WeChat mini-program called the Digital Bayu Farming Culture Map and you can find information about over 1,000 local agricultural heritage spots in Chongqing and their associated tourist services.

The digital map, launched in mid-August, is the first of its kind in the country as China makes efforts to vitalize its farming culture.

Ba and Yu are the historical names of Chongqing, a mountainous municipality in southwestern China with 32 million people.

Developed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Chongqing Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee and the Fengdu County Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, the mini-program aims to make full use of local farming culture, promote agricultural development and create more jobs for farmers.

Farming culture is centered on agricultural production, including farming, agricultural tools, agronomy and agricultural customs.

"The source of traditional Chinese culture lies in the countryside. Farming culture is an important component of that," Tang Ke, director of the rural social affairs promotion department at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said at the launch ceremony for the map in Fengdu on Aug 15.

"The prosperity and development of rural culture cannot be achieved without the exploration and use of traditional farming culture."

China was one of the first regions in the world to begin agricultural production. The profound impact of its development shaped lifestyles, values and social structure, becoming an important component of Chinese civilization.