Tengtou Village is located in the northern part ofthe city of Fenghua,Zhejiang Province,about6 kilometers from the central city district in theplains under the jurisdiction of the town of Xiaowangmiao.
According to the Qing Dynasty Records of FenghuaCounty(Emperor Guangxu),90%of the population weresurnamed Fu.The village is located in a vast open plainand is neat and clean,has good transportation facilitiesand a population that is simple and honest.The villagewas listed to the 1992“Global 500”for environmentalprotection by the United Nations Environment Program.
In 1997 it was named as a“National Environmental EducationBase.”
Tengtou Village was formerly known as“DestituteTengtou”because of the poor conditions in the village.
The surrounding rivers were narrow and the scatteringof agricultural plots in the village were subject to yearlyflooding.There were over 80 households with 401 peopleliving in the village in 1949,mainly living off rice paddies.
Out of the nearly 1,000 mu of farmland,60%washeld by absentee landlords,leaving only 300 mu(includingthat of clans)for the local residents.
In the and 1970s the people of Tengtou adoptedan attitude of“nose to the plow”and used their“carryingpoles and shoulders”to convert the more than 1,200plots of low-yield land of varying altitudes and sizes thatwere subject to yearly flooding into more than 200 goodplots.The new well-drained plots are all the same sizeand lined up in a north-south orientation thereby greatlyimproving the quality and size of harvests.
In the 1980s the people of Tengtou began working very hard and making many sacrifices to develop local industryfrom one garment factory employing 27 people to 37enterprises in four industrial zones today.The TengtouGroup has an annual production output worth one billionyuan,making it the rural enterprise with the largestscale of operations and greatest total of tax and profits inChina.
As the people of Tengtou gradually began to prosperin the mid-1990s they stepped up their self-improvementefforts and began attaching more importance to the conceptof sustainable development.Tengtou was named asa national-level model eco-friendly village and reachedits goals for modernization of agriculture and the countrysideahead of schedule.
In addition to working to improve their material standardof living,the people of Tengtou also stepped up effortsto improve spiritual civilization,creating a village ofsimple and honest people with an excellent social atmo-sphere of unity and harmony among neighbors.
To improve living conditions,the simple utilitarianfarm houses were demolished and all replaced with deluxemodern houses with so that all the villagers couldlive in spacious and comfortable conditions,increasingthe per capital housing of 40 square meters to 80 squaremeters.The village also provides welfare benefits such asmedical insurance and old-age insurance for all its residents.
There is not one economically deprived householdin the village.All are living a comfortable life.
While continuing to develop the tourist industry,TengtouVillage is also developing and making use of new scenicspots while ensuring that buildings in the village fit inwell with the natural environment.The pastoral scenery isexquisite and the environment is very suitable for humanhabitation.Eco-tours cover dozens of scenic sites,includingJiangnan Park,General Forest,Potted Landscape Parkand Green Corridor.For tourists interested in agriculturethere is the Plant Cultivation Sightseeing Park,the Flower,Grass and Tree Appreciation Zone and the Seed andSeedling Cultivation Base and Seasonal Fruit and MelonPatch,where visitors can pick their own fruit and melons.
Tourists interested in the local customs and traditions canparticipate in activities such as spinning and weaving,crossing the fields on footpaths between plots,drawingwater with a water wheel,and hulling the spring rice andsee trail blazing animal performances such as bull fighting,goat fighting,pig races and cock fighting.The overalleffect is a beautiful picture of human and nature in harmony.
Tengtou Village pursues a civilized developmentpath of working to expand production,increase standardof living and maintain an excellent ecological environmentwhile maintaining a balance among rapid economicdevelopment,environmental concerns and the buildingof spiritual civilization.The village has become a modelexemplar of the eco-friendly,modern,new socialist countryside.