College-community collaboration boosts rural development

In 2019, Guizhou Vocational College of Agriculture established an off-campus training base in Hongqi village, Baiyi town, Wudang district, Guiyang, capital of Southwest China's Guizhou province, following an industry-education integration approach.

"By the end of last year, only 13 Baiyi black-feather chickens remained. After entrusting their conservation breeding to the base, the population has now reached 400," said Luo Wenzhen, deputy chief of Baiyi town. Since the base was established in Baiyi, it has provided technical and other support to enhance the development of local specialties like fruit, rice and chili peppers.

"The base features a scenic overlook, leisure corridors, sightseeing trails, and solar streetlights. Every evening, locals come here to stroll and dance in the square. Additionally, the government organizes lively cultural events at the base annually, including harvest festivals, village concerts, and chili festivals," said Li Haoyang, the person in charge of the base's production department.

With the rising popularity of summer tourism in Guiyang, more tourists from Hunan, Chongqing, Sichuan, and other areas have visited the base in the past two years to enjoy agritourism and experience farming culture. This influx has boosted sales of local agricultural products and increased farmers' incomes.

Additionally, the base has expanded into research-based learning and highly-skilled talent development programs, driving the integration of agriculture with education, tourism, and culture to accelerate agricultural transformation. Last year, the base hosted over 40,000 students and teachers for educational tours, effectively merging agriculture with science education and research-based learning.

Moving forward, the base will continue to advance agriculture while investing more in research-based learning and cultural tourism to stimulate rural tourism development and help residents achieve sustained income growth.