'Agritainment' boosts Xi'an farmers' income

City mayor vows to benefit the livelihoods of people

A farmer who runs so-called "agritainment" restaurants in the mountainous area of Xi'an can earn 200,000 yuan ($31,408) a year, more than the average annual income of urban residents, said Kang Lifeng, deputy director of the Xi'an tourism administration.

Agritainment refers to any farm-based tourism operation that provides agriculture-themed entertainment, such as real farming experiences and homemade meals made from food grown on the farm.

Currently, there are altogether more than 5,000 such restaurants in Xi'an, Kang said.

A village called Donghan, known for paintings by farmers, attracted some 30,000 foreign visitors, mainly US residents, last year.

It hosts parties at which a farmer addresses visitors in Chinese and English. Foreign guests can learn to draw folk-style pictures as well as make dumplings and buns.

A better life for the farmers is made possible by local efforts to tap into the area's rich tourism resources, such as geographic advantages of the Qinling Mountain range, which forms a natural picturesque landscape and folk culture.

Yet, some farmers live in areas that also house historical relics and should figure out other ways to make life better.

In order to renovate the relics, some farmers were resettled to other places, but some remained at their former residences.

In the past, living conditions in the historical area have not been that good, due to a lack of basic facilities, such as modern pipelines.

People used to live by farming traditional agricultural products, so incomes were limited, said Hui Xilu, director of the Xi'an urban planning bureau.

However, the municipal planning department discovered that the historic places are more suitable for growing economic agricultural products, including peach trees. The so-called "10,000-mu (666-hectare) peach farm" in a northern suburb is a popular tourist attraction.

Locals are encouraged to get involved with the leisure agriculture business.

Better life

Xi'an was selected as one of the happiest cities in the nation in 2009.

It stands out among the 10 cities that pay the most attention to the livelihood of citizens, Xi'an Mayor Dong Jun said.

According to statistics provided by the local development and reform commission, in the past five years, the municipal government has invested more than 70 percent of its total expenditures on boosting living standards. The fiscal budget reached 107.88 billion yuan.

In 2011, urban residents' income per capita was 25,981 yuan and farmers' income per capita was 9,788 yuan, both of which were more than double 2006 levels. Growth rates were the biggest among 15 sub-provincial capital cities.

"So that people can eat high-quality food, the city ensures that safe breakfasts, oils, buns, bean products and vegetables are for sale in local communities," Dong said.

The city implemented measures to ease traffic jams and build more public toilets, he noted.

"Besides happiness, officials that were interviewed all agree that Xi'an's people are born with a pride in their native city since they were raised in such a historic atmosphere," the mayor stressed.

In the downtown area, the city wall that used to guard the imperial palace of the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-917) has been standing there for more than 600 years and is still open to the public.

Residents were frequently told the tale of love between a Tang emperor and renowned beauty Yang Guifei, his beloved imperial concubine.

There is a kind of historic responsibility that could not easily be found in other Chinese cities, Dong said.

"I sometimes get a little tired of the city its noodles, the city wall and the Shaanxi dialect. But once I leave the city for a new place and live there for a certain period, I miss Xi'an its noodles, the city wall and the folk culture that appear in my dreams, until I finally go home, where my pride is rooted," Kang said.

"We will stick to the notion that 'development for the people' and insist on implementing more policies to benefit the livelihoods of people to solve their problems," said the mayor.

"We will do more practical things for people to make their lives better. We will help each citizen lead a more dignified and happier life,"Dong noted.

xuxiao@chinadaily.com.cn