Ninety-one years ago, the Central Red Army's Long March passed through Niuchang Buyi Township in Baiyun District, Guiyang, forging a bond of solidarity between troops and civilians on ancient post roads. The spirit of the pioneers, who crossed mountains and rivers and dared to blaze new trails, is deeply rooted in this mountainous land.

Nine decades later, the villages once traversed by the Long March now nurture a new generation of grassroots "trailblazers" who are rooted in the land and dare to lead the way. On the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Long March, our reporting team visited Niuchang Township. Located in the northern suburbs of Guiyang, it is the only purely agricultural township in Baiyun District and serves as a key ecological barrier and a destination for leisure and wellness.

In recent years, Niuchang Township has focused on its pillar industries of "urban agriculture plus rural tourism," cultivating specialty agricultural products such as Yunshang Red Rice, Shilong Crispy Persimmon, and Qishan Crispy Plum. It has also developed a series of integrated agricultural, cultural, and tourism projects, carving out a distinctive path toward increased agricultural efficiency, tourism revenue, and rural prosperity.

In Shilong Village, a 70-mu (approx. 4.7 hectares) Pink Muhly grass meadow stretches like pink clouds across gentle slopes from September to November each year. It's hard to imagine that this popular internet-famous spot was once an ecological scar, its soil heavily contaminated with heavy metals from mining operations. Chang Guolin, deputy director of the Shilong Village Committee, told reporters that in 2021, the village's leadership made a firm decision: they could not let the land remain barren. They had to find a new path that balanced ecology, tourism, and prosperity.

In Luodao Village, vast fields of lush ginger plants hold the promise of a bountiful harvest. Here, village officials invested their own money to trial ginger cultivation, seeking a sustainable source of income for the villagers. Zhang Mulin, the village Party branch secretary and village committee director, stated, "Let the cadres test the waters first. Once the model is proven, we can bring the villagers along."

In Huangguan Village, previously scattered, idle, and barren hillsides have been consolidated into a standardized 450-mu (approx. 30 hectares) Golden Nai Plum plantation. In Xiaoshan Village, the village collective's shareholding cooperative has reclaimed wasteland to create a demonstration base for Taiqiu Persimmons, interplanting high-quality corn beneath the trees. Once barren hills and wastelands, the area is now vibrant with green.

Transforming a Mining Wasteland into a Pink Flower Sea

"We are now standing at the Shilong Village Pink Muhly base," Chang Guolin explained, pointing to the land. "In 2021, the village's leadership and the resident work team decided to ecologically restore this abandoned silica mine wasteland and turn it into a viewing base."

Looking back to the era of mining, the land was once fertile farmland. However, after a company mined silica stone for glass, the waste slag was dumped on site, leading to severely heavy metal-contaminated soil. Experts determined it was unsuitable for growing grains or vegetables, leaving vast tracts of land fallow for years. Farmers, with no arable land, had no way to increase their income.

The turning point came in 2021 when Shilong Village began the arduous task of restoring this ecological scar, taking each step with caution. With no ready-made plan, the village leadership visited households, consulted the Guizhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and worked with Guiyang's science and technology commissioner, Xu Hongjuan, who conducted field surveys and guided plant selection. Ultimately, they chose Pink Muhly grass, which is only for ornamental use and not part of the food chain, as the restoration plant.

Securing initial funding was the first major hurdle. "The village collective borrowed 200,000 yuan from a Guiyang bank to start the project," Chang Guolin said. "Simultaneously, we applied for special 'One Case, One Discussion' funds to build sightseeing paths and parking lots, submitted projects to the science and technology bureau, and had long-term experts from the agricultural academy stationed for management and care. We established a collaborative model of 'Party building plus resident work team plus research institutes plus farmers.'"

Land transfer was managed through a mechanism where farmers contributed their land as shares in the cooperative, sharing both benefits and risks. Not a penny of cost was passed on to the villagers. The 1.5-month viewing period from late September to early November each year has become a key window for increasing income across the entire village. The crowds drawn by the flower sea have directly stimulated the local micro-economy. "Villagers set up stalls around the base selling snacks, local chicken, cured meat, and other agricultural products," Chang noted. "Daily maintenance, weeding, and pruning also provide jobs for local labor."

Future plans include developing businesses such as Pink Muhly seedling sales, dried flower cultural products, pressed flower crafts, specialty dining, and picking experiences. A comprehensive 200-mu (approx. 13.3 hectares) park will integrate the Pink Muhly, green seedlings, and Golden Nai Plum to create a unified agricultural, cultural, and tourism complex, aiming for shared prosperity between the village collective and its residents. Leveraging its high-quality ecology, folk culture, and natural scenery, Shilong Village has set its development direction on deep integration of agriculture, culture, and tourism, aiming to become a popular hiking destination on the outskirts of Guiyang.

Geographically, Shilong Village is located in the eastern part of Niuchang Township, 28 kilometers from Baiyun city center. It covers a total area of 7.89 square kilometers and features typical karst landforms. The average altitude is 1,460 meters, with a peak of 1,600 meters. Mount Yunwu, at 1,659 meters, is the highest peak in northern Guiyang. The village has 8,109 mu of forest (68% forest coverage) and 986.84 mu of arable land, including 781.41 mu of paddy fields. In 2025, the village's operating income reached 1.077 million yuan. For 2026, the village Party branch has anchored its core development strategy on "mountain agriculture plus specialty tourism," focusing on four areas: study tourism, specialty agriculture, rural tourism, and supporting infrastructure, driving high-quality collective economic growth through Party building.

Village Officials Invest Personal Funds to Trial Ginger Cultivation

Heading from Shilong Village along the mountain road, the continuous ginger fields of Luodao Village come into view. Zhang Mulin, squatting on the ridge with dirt on his hands, said, "Planting this ginger is about showing the villagers a path. We need to find a sustainable way to increase their income."

Luodao Village features a karst hilly landscape with loose, well-drained sandy yellow soil rich in natural trace elements like zinc and selenium, and significant day-night temperature differences. "Ginger thrives in loose, fertile soil, prefers diffused light, and dislikes waterlogging and direct sun. Luodao Village is a naturally ideal area for ginger cultivation," Zhang Mulin explained. The local ginger project uses a "company plus village collective plus farmers" model. The first phase includes 180 mu (12 hectares) of standardized planting land, with a 5-year plan to expand the base to 750 mu (50 hectares), creating a full industry chain covering seed cultivation, large-scale planting, field management, harvesting, and sales.

"Agriculture depends on the weather, the land, and people's effort. If we face floods or droughts, all investment could be lost. We can't risk the collective assets or the villagers' savings," Zhang said. "So, the cadres lead the way. Once the model is proven, we bring in the villagers."

Traditionally, Luodao Village residents relied on a single, low-income source of rice farming and temporary migrant labor, with an average annual per capita income of only 5,000 to 10,000 yuan. A large number of young laborers left the village, leading to significant "hollowing out." The village leadership was determined to break out of the traditional agricultural trap and find high-value specialty cash crops. After extensive research, they selected high-mountain ginger, which is well-suited to the local sandy soil, and also set up experimental plots for sweet potatoes, sunflowers, and waxy corn. All initial investments were self-funded by the eight village officials.

"Our high-mountain small yellow ginger is planted in March-April when the weather warms up, and harvested around November after the frost season," Zhang Mulin explained. The entire growth cycle relies on the mountain environment, using mainly organic farm manure and scientific green management, avoiding overuse of chemical agents. Zhang calculated a "shared prosperity" scenario: a farmer growing specialty crops on their own could earn an annual income of 30,000 to 50,000 yuan, potentially several times more than traditional farming. Young people who return to contract 10-20 mu for large-scale operation could also earn a considerable income, attracting back the outflowing labor force. "Our only goal is to give our villagers a stable, tangible path to higher income. Even if this year's trial doesn't meet expectations, the cadres will bear the losses. The villagers won't suffer a single cent."

Leveraging Local Resources for Income Growth

Similarly capitalizing on its mountain resources, Huangguan Village is using the development of high-quality micro-gardens as a starting point for rural industrial revitalization, focusing on the cultivation of specialty plums. Village official Shu Yongzhen told reporters that the village's plum orchard uses a mature "Party branch plus cooperative plus base plus farmers" model to standardize the cultivation of specialty fruit trees. The village actively engages agricultural experts for on-site guidance, using scientific techniques to improve fruit quality and standardize field management. It is primarily cultivating the high-quality Golden Nai Plum variety, and together with the adjacent Qishan Village's late-fragrant plum planting area, the total scale exceeds 600 mu (40 hectares), with Huangguan Village's core Golden Nai Plum area covering over 450 mu.

During the development process, Huangguan Village fully revitalized villagers' idle land resources, guiding them to participate deeply by contributing land as shares or working locally. Villagers who contribute their land to the orchard base for unified operation become shareholders and park maintenance workers, achieving triple income from "land rent, work wages, and year-end dividends." The combined plum planting area of Huangguan and Qishan Villages is now showing significant results, with a total summer plum output of 200,000 jin (100,000 kg) and an overall output value exceeding 3 million yuan, driving an average increase of over 15,000 yuan per household. Shu Yongzhen noted that the Golden Nai Plum base provides over 30 temporary positions for villagers, effectively enabling them to find work near their homes. Additionally, with abundant forest resources, a mild climate, and suitable temperature differences, Huangguan Village is a key demonstration village for edible fungi near Guiyang, with an annual production of about 3,000 jin (1,500 kg).

In Xiaoshan Village, the collective shareholding cooperative has found a new path to revitalize idle land. Early this year, after clearing and preparing a hillside, a 20-mu persimmon base took shape. Luo Haiyan, a village committee member, explained that because fruit trees have a long growth cycle and take time to yield, the village adopted a "short-term crops sustaining long-term projects" strategy by interplanting corn under the persimmon trees. This solved the problem of early-stage management funds and allowed the reclaimed land to generate income in the same year. Furthermore, leveraging the township's 1,000-mu rapeseed and red rice resources, Xiaoshan Village has built a grain and oil processing plant. Operating under a "joint village Party committee plus cooperative plus village collective plus farmers" model, it has created a full-chain industry from field planting, raw material procurement, and deep processing to cultural tourism exhibition and sales. Village committee member Zhang Hua stated that the plant provides year-round local employment for villagers and distributes dividends to all households, helping the village collective increase its annual income by over 700,000 yuan.