Xinghua has low-lying terrain and a dense water network, creating unique water town scenery. [Photo/js.people.com.cn]
Thirty-three administrative villages in Xinghua city, Jiangsu province, were recently included in Jiangsu's second batch of provincial-level livable, business friendly, and beautiful rural areas, with 1,039 administrative villages recognized in total.
This is the second consecutive year that the city has ranked first in the province in terms of the number of selected villages.
Last year, Xinghua divided its 463 administrative villages into five categories according to development goal, including "agglomeration enhancement" and "characteristic protection".
Xinghua is ramping up efforts to forge large industries around small products.
Xinghua Crab Xiaoqi Aquatic Products is a prime example, as it has undergone a transformation from single crab breeding to a full chain of production, processing and sales.
As a water city, Xinghua pays special attention to water environment management in the improvement of village appearance. Xinghua connect villages near urban areas to the municipal pipeline network nearby, and for villages that are not close to towns but have a relatively concentrated population, a combination of small-scale sewage treatment plants and artificial wetlands is adopted.
In some villages with dispersed populations and complex terrain, decentralized sewage treatment facilities are used, which can reduce sewage discharge and provide organic fertilizers for farmland.