Guangchang, Jiangxi: "Hometown of White Lotus in China" uses "lotus" as a medium to promote rural revitalization

"The lotus leaves are infinitely green in the sky, and the lotus flowers are different in the sun." This kind of ecological beauty can be seen everywhere in Guangchang County, Fuzhou, Jiangxi.
On July 3, The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) went to Guangchang County Lotus Science and Technology Expo Park and China Lotus Scenic Area with the media interview group of "The Tenth Anniversary of the Revitalization and Development of the Southern Jiangxi Soviet Area" to explore the use of "lotus" as a medium. The sample experience of agricultural tourism integration to help rural revitalization.
Guangchang County is located in the southeastern part of Jiangxi Province and the source of the Fuhe River. It is well-known as the "Hometown of White Lotus in China" and the northern gate of the former Central Soviet Area. It is also the main battlefield of the fifth anti-"encirclement and suppression" campaign. "The Guangchang Gaohunao Campaign won precious time for the strategic transfer of the main force of the Red Army and the central organs.
Guangchang, "the hometown of white lotus in China", has transformed from a national poverty-stricken county to a strong agricultural county relying on the "space lotus". Yi Zhonghua, member of the Standing Committee of the Guangchang County Party Committee and Minister of Propaganda, told The Paper that at present, the county's white lotus industry has a comprehensive annual output value of nearly 3 billion yuan, and the Guangchang "space lotus" planting area covers Hunan, Hubei, Zhejiang, Sichuan and other places. It accounts for 80% of the total planting area of ​​the main white lotus producing areas in the country.
The comprehensive annual output value of Bailian is nearly 3 billion yuan
The white lotus species in Guangchang has a long history. The local people have deep feelings for white lotus, and all kinds of brick, wood and stone buildings in Guangchang County have elements of lotus.
"The local white lotus was first planted in the Yifeng period of the Tang Dynasty, and it has a history of more than 1,300 years. At present, the planting area of ​​lotus in Guangchang is more than 110,000 mu, with an annual output of 9,000 tons. Both the area and output rank first in the county-level list in the country. The largest Bailian scientific research and production center, distribution center, price formation center and national standardized production base for green food raw materials." Zou Dongwang, deputy director of Guangchang County Bailian Industry Development Center, told The Paper.
The Lotus Science and Technology Expo Park is located in the southern suburb of Guangchang County, next to the Changsha Highway, 5 kilometers away from the county seat. The Expo Park was built in 2009, with the theme of white lotus research, integrating five functions: white lotus research, breeding of improved varieties, popular science education, lotus culture display, and tourism. The entire park is divided into eight areas, including the scientific research test area, the improved variety breeding area, the Chinese and foreign lotus variety viewing area, and the germplasm resource area. It is the earliest and largest domestic lotus research and display platform.
"Guangchang is at the leading domestic level in Zilian breeding. It has carried out five researches on space mutation breeding of Guangchang White Lotus Aerospace, and has bred new white lotus varieties such as Space Lotus No. 36. The cumulative planting area is more than 20 million mu, covering It has accounted for more than 80% of the country's planting area of ​​lotus, and has become the main variety of lotus in my country." Zou Dongwang further said that the white lotus industry is the pillar industry of Guangchang county economy, and the annual agricultural output value of Guangchang white lotus reaches 700 million yuan, and the comprehensive output value nearly 3 billion yuan.