Wanggui Xincun is one of the tens of 'new homes' in Ordos in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, occupied by farmers and herdsmen who used to live in adobe or brick houses. Photos by Wang Jing / China Daily |
Ordos gives those who worked the land a chance of a new beginning, Wang Hao, Yang Wanli and Yang Fang report from Inner Mongolia. Ordos, on the vast plateau of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, has probably been China's most rapidly developing prefecture-level city during the past decade, as a result of the exploitation of its rich mineral resources. With 13 percent of the country's coal and one-third of its natural gas reserves, Ordos boasts a higher per capita GDP than larger cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. The city is investing great efforts in the management of social security and, in particular, township construction. Thousands of farmers and herdsmen, who could barely manage to make ends meet on the sandy land, are relocating to nearby towns. Wanggui Xincun is one of the tens of "new homes" in Ordos occupied by farmers and herdsmen who used to live in adobe or brick houses. Located close to the center of Dalate town, the residential community is home to more than 1,200 families. In addition to supermarkets and kindergartens, the community also has an entertainment center, where residents can play badminton, table tennis and billiards. It also has a fitness club and a library. Meanwhile, group activities can be held in rooms provided free of charge by the residents' committee. Bai Yufeng, who moved from the suburbs of Dalate to Wanggui Xincun with his wife and son in August, is a member of the center's calligraphy club. Bai, 62, said that joining the club and practicing the art form with 30 friends has given added meaning to his post-retirement life. "There was no public place for clubs in my old village. I could only practice calligraphy at home and so I felt lonely. Without a public activity center, there was really nothing for elderly people to do in winter," he said. He was speaking in late January when the outside temperature was approximately -15 C and the cold weather made outdoor sports impossible. Inside the club, however, Bai needed little more protection than a sweater. He said his family lived in a brick house for more than 20 years. The house, less than 20 square meters, consisted of just a dining room and one bedroom. In winter, family members only took a shower once a month because the house had no water heater and they had to bathe in public bathrooms. Now, Bai's family lives in an apartment comprising a sitting room, a kitchen and two bedrooms, and they can shower as often as they like. Living much closer to the town hospital, Bai said his wife and he are happy in the new community. Moreover, the apartment was cheap, less than 1,000 yuan ($160) per square meter. The farmers and herdsmen that have moved into the new residential area retain ownership of their farmland and houses in the rural area. Most of them have rented the land for the cultivation of sand willow (salix mongolica), a cold- and drought-tolerant, fast-growing tree, believed to be one of the most effective plants in the prevention of desertification. In total, 500,000 farmers and herdsman have moved to the new residential areas, resulting in the average annual income rising from 2,500 to 12,000 yuan. The grassland has also undergone a tremendous change, with the vegetation-coverage rate expanding to more than 75 percent last year from 25 percent in 2000. "We are lucky to be the first group of villagers to move to the township. Some of our relatives living in other districts are still waiting for the relocation program," said Bai.
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鄂爾多斯(漢語意為“眾多宮殿”),是一座位于內(nèi)蒙古自治區(qū)西南部的地級市,毗鄰晉、陜、寧三省區(qū),三面被黃河環(huán)繞。依靠“羊煤土氣”(羊毛、煤炭、稀土、天然氣)4種資源,位于內(nèi)蒙古自治區(qū)沙漠邊緣,總?cè)丝谥挥?50萬的鄂爾多斯,短短幾年鑄就了夢幻般的財富值,人均GDP超越香港,位居全國第一。如今,富起來的鄂爾多斯正在讓居住在這片遼闊土地上的成千上萬農(nóng)牧民一同享受城市的財富,幫助他們從條件艱苦的農(nóng)牧區(qū)遷居到城鎮(zhèn)來。 位于鄂爾多斯達(dá)拉特旗的王貴新村,就是62歲的農(nóng)民白玉峰的新家。位于達(dá)拉特旗市中心的王貴新村現(xiàn)在居住著1200戶農(nóng)牧民,他們當(dāng)中絕大多數(shù)都來自條件艱苦,人口密度較小的農(nóng)牧區(qū)。白玉峰一家三口去年八月剛搬到新村,在此之前,他們一直住在郊區(qū)的一間30多平的小平房里。白大爺告訴我們:“新村的條件比城里好多小區(qū)都好,我們有免費(fèi)的室內(nèi)活動區(qū),每個協(xié)會有自己的活動中心,超市的東西都是平價。比以前在農(nóng)村強(qiáng)多了!” 為了方便農(nóng)牧民在冬季也能進(jìn)行豐富多彩的活動,新村配備了一個4層樓的公共服務(wù)及活動中心。在這里,居民可以免費(fèi)打羽毛球、臺球。老人和孩子都有配備相應(yīng)設(shè)施的俱樂部,圖書館也是免費(fèi)的。2月初,達(dá)拉特旗戶外溫度已經(jīng)到了-15C,但 活動中心室內(nèi)卻溫暖如春。 白玉峰現(xiàn)在是社區(qū)書法協(xié)會的會員,他說:“在農(nóng)村的時候,根本沒有活動中心能交流一下共同愛好?,F(xiàn)在我們協(xié)會有30名會員,大家有空就過來寫字交流,生活豐富多了。新村居住環(huán)境也好,以前在農(nóng)村,沒有熱水器沒法洗澡,一個冬天就洗那么一兩次。現(xiàn)在的新家都有熱水器,啥時候都能洗澡,方便極了?!?/p> 政府對搬遷戶新房的價格,也給予了很大的扶持。據(jù)了解,參加到城鎮(zhèn)化計劃的家庭,每戶按照人口購買相應(yīng)大小的商品房,價格都非常低廉,大約在600至1000元一平米。在新小區(qū)入住的村民還保留原住地的土地使用權(quán),許多村民把地租出去種樹,不僅能防風(fēng)固沙,還能通過買木材產(chǎn)生一定收入。白大爺說,以前他們村有些居民對搬遷還有顧慮,沒有參加第一批搬遷,現(xiàn)在,大家都開始排隊等著住城里了。 |
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