Fengxian County–A Model for China's New Countryside

Developing Green Industries

Although Fengxian County has a population of 1.1 million only, it is one of the top 100 small and medium-sized cities with the most investment potential in China. One reason is that this typical agricultural county is close to several transport channels, less than 100 kilometers from significant rail routes like the Lianyungang-Lanzhou, Beijing-Shanghai and Beijing-Kowloon lines. More importantly, the county has formed an industrial hub that prioritizes green industries.

The electric tricycle is one of the county’s trademarks. The 2012 sales volume of this vehicle made in Fengxian outnumbered three million, accounting for 70 percent of the national market share and making Fengxian County China’s largest electric tricycle production and research base.

Developed from the diesel and push tricycles of the past, the electric tricycle is a green vehicle with Chinese characteristics. With a load capacity of 500 kilograms and a maximum speed of 30 kilometers per hour, the tricycle can cover 60 kilometers once fully charged. Besides, the recharge rate is only 20 percent of oil costs, so it is quite popular among rural families on a modest income, and an ideal means of transporting farm products to the market or visiting relatives and friends.

Fengxian County has more than 400 enterprises manufacturing tricycles and accessories with a total sales revenue of RMB 15 billion per year, which are supported by the local government. An electric tricycle industry chain, from raw material processing to semi-finished product, end product, logistics and marketing, has taken shape.

Some leading enterprises, such as Sulida, have developed upgraded products like mini mail cars and fire engines that can access crowded streets, which have received orders from big cities like Shanghai. Other companies’ products are exported to developing countries such as Pakistan, the Philippines, Indonesia and Zambia.

In the county, most new investment projects are related to green industries; a joint project with Mengniu Dairy serves as a model.

Thanks to the afforestation drives since the 1950s, the county’s living wood growing stock has reached 1.3 million cubic meters. Therefore, the wood processing industry has become a pillar of the county’s industrial economy. In the past when wooden molding was popular in decoration, related products made in Fengxian County occupied 70 percent of the Beijing market. Now, the county cooperates with large leading enterprises like Jilin Forest Industry Group to produce blockboard and chipboard, which still accounts for more than one third of Beijing’s market.

Wood processing also boosts the growth of related industries, such as board purchase and sale, transportation and wood pulping. Turning “waste” into wealth – even tree roots and branches can be processed in the county – effectively prolongs the wood processing industry chain. Currently over 3,000 wood processing enterprises settle in the county with their annual output value topping RMB 2.1 billion, accounting for one third of the county’s gross value of production.

As the hometown of Liu Bang, the founder and first emperor of the Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 220), and a key scenic spot of Han culture, Fengxian County has numerous sites of Han Dynasty heritage including the ancestral mausoleum of Liu Bang. The county has also maintained a number of traditional customs, such as sugar and dough figure sculpture, suona horn playing (a woodwind instrument), and wushu displays (a type of martial art), making it an ideal place to appreciate folk culture. In addition, the abundance of ecological orchards and vegetable greenhouses make the county a great get-away location for city dwellers to relieve the pressures of urban life and enjoy the countryside. These attractions have shaped tourism into a new pillar of green industry for the county. During our stay, we observed numerous other tourism projects in progress, demonstrating the county’s clear ambition to develop its tourism industry.