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Yesterday, at an altitude of 1,000 meters, Daji Township in Jingning She Autonomous County was still shrouded in thin mist as villagers shuttled through the fields picking high-mountain cold-water bamboo shoots glistening with morning dew. By 6 a.m. each morning, these fresh bamboo shoots are quickly transported to the “Jingning 600” agricultural product processing center. After standardized preliminary processing and packaging, they are labeled with the brand tag and dispatched via refrigerated trucks. Within six hours, they arrive at the national warehouse of Freshippo (Hema) in Shanghai.
“Freshippo’s premium pack age contains three to four bamboo shoots weighing over 400 grams. Each of our shoots weighs more than 100 grams, fully meeting their quality standards,” said Xu Kesong, head of Lishui Cold Water Tianyuan Eco-Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. Since mid-August, Jingning’s high-mountain cold-water bamboo shoots have officially entered Freshippo’s supply chain. Currently, the daily output from over 7,000 mu (about 467 hectares) of these bamboo shoots is approximately 7,500 kilograms, with more than 1,250 kilograms supplied daily to Freshippo.
Jingning is characterized by a typical “90% mountains, half water, half farmland” topography — “slopes right outside the door, not a flat patch of land three feet wide” paints an accurate picture. The 600-meter altitude mark serves as a special geographical boundary here: 96 villages are situated above this elevation, where inconvenient transportation and underdeveloped industries long hindered poverty alleviation. However, these areas benefit from significant diurnal temperature variation and ample sunlight, resulting in high-quality agricultural products.
How can ecological advantages be transformed into economic momentum? Jingning has identified a new path — ecological agriculture in mountainous regions — and is moving forward with determination.
Since 2017, Jingning has innovatively built the “Jingning 600” regional public brand and established an industrial system around it. By cultivating model cooperatives and encouraging large-scale farming among villagers, the county has introduced 122 types of high-mountain agricultural products, including flagship items such as Huiming Tea and Cold Water Snow Bamboo Shoots. This initiative has bridged the transformation from “lucid waters and lush mountains” into “golden mountains and silver mountains”, becoming a new lever for common prosperity in ethnic regions.
To date, the “Jingning 600” eco-base has expanded to 134,700 mu (about 8,980 hectares). The high-quality products are sold widely in cities like Shanghai, Hangzhou, Jiaxing, and Ningbo, with sales reaching 740 million yuan in 2024 and boosting income for more than 24,000 farmers. Today, the 600-meter altitude is no longer synonymous with poverty but has become a “starting line” for common prosperity.
Huiming Tea, a gold medal winner at the Panama World Expo, is mainly produced in Sanshi Village, Chengzhao Township, about four kilometers southwest of Jingning’s county seat.
For years, Sanshi Village has relied on its pristine ecological environment to develop the tea industry. Today, the village’s tea planting area has reached over 5,300 mu (about 353 hectares), a fivefold increase since 2005. Chen Xinghe, the village Party secretary, happily shared the benefits: “Last year, the village’s collective operating income exceeded 1.8 million yuan, and the annual per capita income of villagers reached nearly 40,000 yuan.” Huiming Tea has truly become “tea that benefits the people”.
Several initiatives have accelerated the growth of the Huiming Tea industry: the construction of an industrial park with an annual output of 3,000 tons; the development of the “Around Chimu Mountain” tea tourism route; and the launch of the “Jingning Industrial Public Welfare Venture Plan” in collaboration with Alibaba Philanthropy. In 2024, the entire industry chain of Huiming Tea — from planting, picking, processing to sales — across 78,000 mu (5,200 hectares) achieved an output value of 830 million yuan. This has helped over 4,000 farming households increase their per capita income by 20,000 yuan and benefited 40,000 tea industry workers with a per capita income rise of 12,000 yuan. This small “green leaf” has become a “golden leaf” driving rural revitalization in ethnic regions.
Today, the vitality of Jingning’s “altitude economy” continues to grow. Leveraging strategic initiatives such as the “Mountain-Sea Collaboration Project” and “Integrated Yangtze River Delta Development”, more and more premium “Jingning 600” mountain products are being sent to “display cabinets” in developed regions like the Yangtze River Delta, continuously enhancing the brand’s premium value.
In 2024, the per capita disposable income of rural residents in Jingning reached 30,461 yuan, an increase of 8.4%, the highest growth rate in the province. The head of Jingning County’s Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau stated that the county will continue to leverage its distinctive advantages, accelerate the improvement of the “Jingning 600” industrial system, strengthen the industrial foundation, and enhance quality agriculture, steadily advancing high-quality development and common prosperity in ethnic regions.
【Extended Reading】
Lishui is one of the pioneers in regional public brand development in China. In 2014, the first prefecture-level regional public brand, “Lishui Shangen”, was launched. By creating a series of “mountain”-themed regional public brands such as “Lishui Shanju”, “Lishui Shanjing”, and “Lishui Shanquan”, Lishui City has transformed ecological advantages into product competitiveness, turning “high-quality ecology” into “high-quality benefits” and supporting high-quality green development in the regional economy. In 2024, “Lishui Shangen” achieved sales of 6.012 billion yuan; “Lishui Shanju” homestays generated revenue of 2.203 billion yuan; “Lishui Shanjing” contributed to a comprehensive tourism revenue of 33.95 billion yuan; and “Lishui Shanquan” reached sales of 40 million yuan.
【Expert Commentary】
Liu Keqin, Executive Dean of the China (Lishui) Two Mountains Academy:
Jingning She Autonomous County’s use of the “altitude economy” to address development challenges in mountainous areas is a vivid example of practicing the concept that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”. The innovatively constructed “Jingning 600” industrial system not only accurately captures the scarcity and high quality of high-mountain ecological agricultural products but also successfully bridges the transformation from “ecological advantage” to “market value” through branding, standardization, and integrated operations. The core of this model lies in redefining what was traditionally seen as a “geographical disadvantage” into an “ecological advantage”, turning unique agricultural products nurtured by high-altitude environments into highly competitive commodities that achieve both ecological value-added benefits and increased farmer income. “Jingning 600” is not only a regional public brand but also a vital engine for rural revitalization and common prosperity in ethnic regions. Its experience offers significant lessons for similar mountainous areas across the country seeking to realize ecological value transformation