Amidst the green mountains and clear waters, understanding the “priceless”

In Changkou Village, Jiangle County, Fujian, a stone tablet holds the unforgettable memory of the villagers—29 years ago, when a deputy party secretary of the Fujian Provincial Committee came to investigate here, leaving behind a story about “green mountains and clear waters.”

In the 1980s and 1990s, a company approached the village, offering 200,000 yuan to buy the natural forest at the village entrance as raw material for making wooden chopsticks. At that time, Changkou Village could not find a way to develop, the villagers lived in poverty, and the village collective’s finances were stretched thin.

Sell or not sell? The village cadres and villagers faced a difficult decision.

One day in April 1997, the deputy party secretary came to the old village office in Changkou. Overlooking the Jinxi River in front, a lush and vibrant forest stretched out. Looking at the forest, he said earnestly: “Green mountains and clear waters are priceless treasures. You must paint a good landscape painting, solidly grasp mountain development, and do a good job on the article of mountains, water, and fields.”

Changkou Village was one stop on this investigation tour. During the investigation, he earnestly advised: “The current green mountains and clear waters may seem to have little value, but in the long run, they are priceless treasures, and their future value is immeasurable. We must preserve the advantages of the mountains and waters, and do a good job on the big article of ecological protection.”

In the end, Changkou Village rejected the company’s purchase. The villagers followed the concepts he proposed, explored, and leveraged ecological advantages to introduce green industries and cultural tourism. In May 2021, the country’s first forestry carbon credit was born in Changkou Village. On the note numbered “0000001,” 3,197 acres of ecological public welfare forest gained a “value” for the first time. Calculations showed that the first batch of signed ecological public welfare forests had a carbon emission reduction of 12,723 tons, and the stored carbon dioxide equivalent was worth over 140,000 yuan.

Green mountains and clear waters are both natural wealth and economic wealth.

On August 15, 2005, the then party secretary of Zhejiang Provincial Committee came to Yucun Village in Anji County, which was at a crossroads of transformation. Taking advantage of the “Thousand Village Project,” Yucun decided to shut down three stone mines and one cement plant, causing an immediate drop in the village collective economy and villagers’ income. Where would the villagers make money? How would the village develop? Villagers often demanded explanations from the village cadres.

Learning of Yucun’s difficulties, he immediately provided guidance for its development. He pointed out: “When you can’t have both bear’s paw and fish, you must know what to give up and what to choose. Development has many forms; we must take the path of sustainable development. Green mountains and clear waters are golden mountains and silver mountains!”

Over the years, Yucun has developed bamboo forest carbon sinks, ecological tourism, and expanded collective management. The villagers have come to rely on “ecological meals” and “tourism meals,” and their lives are getting better and better.

In April 2020, during an inspection in Shaanxi, the general secretary visited Jiangjiaping Village in Laoxian Town, Pingli County. In the tea garden, tea farmers told him about their harvest: “The tea-picking season lasts three months each year. A fast worker can earn over 200 yuan a day, and even the slower ones get over 100