Agriculture is a relatively common employer here; the establishment of Pei Zhai’s modern industries has been underpinned by the skills honed by generations of local farmers. A vast area has been set aside for 28 large greenhouses, housing fruits and vegetables far more exotic than the humble sweet potato. Each greenhouse is angled to catch as much sunlight as possible, with a high wall of compacted clay on one side to help capture the warmth; translucent, plastic sheeting serves as a roof. The overall effect is impressive – stepping in, the temperature is noticeably warmer than outside. The greenhouses may represent progress, but the village mentality of the family business is still strong – in each one we visit, several members of the same household are hard at work. Mr. Liang, a farmer in his 50s, and one of his daughters work together to maintain two tomato greenhouses; business is booming, and the pair can make fifty or sixty thousand yuan a year. Nearby, Ms Ru’s young daughter plays outside while her mother tends to an exotic crop of dragon fruits, sprouting bizarrely from thin, spindly stems that look like parts of a cactus.
Heading into the village center, we reach Commerce Street, the pride of Pei Zhai. It is a hub for local businesses and represents a realization of the hopes and dreams of many local people; a snapshot of traditional Chinese village life infused with the trappings of modernity. An electrical store displays gleaming televisions, washing machines and air conditioning units, while outside, an elderly man sells fruit from the back of a wooden cart. A group of children enthusiastically follow their instructor through their steps at a Latin Dance School, energetically waving a Chinese flag in each hand. Even here, we are not beyond the reach of the long arm of Chinese e-commerce, and a JD.com store acts as a delivery hub for purchases made online. The proprietor, Mr. Yang, is married with two children at the age of twenty-one. A convenience store operated by the Postal Savings Bank of China has well-stocked shelves of non-perishable food items and household goods, and there is a preferential voucher system for bank account holders to encourage saving – but the shopkeeper, who is six months pregnant, wears a thick coat behind the counter to combat the fact that her store has no heating. This village is still a work in progress, but its people are proud of it, and very rightly so.
Pei Zhai’s realization of the Chinese Dream has been made possible thanks to the generosity of Secretary Pei Chunliang and the support of the Communist Party of China, and the gratitude felt by the people of the village is overwhelmingly apparent. Banners entreat people to ‘Learn from Pei Chunliang’, and an exhibition celebrating the local achievements of the Communist Party has been unveiled in pride of place on the village square. But the narrative of Pei Zhai’s development is also a complex tapestry of individual stories. Successes and failures, triumphs and defeats on the smallest and most personal scale have all contributed to making the village what it is now, and will continue to do so as the people of Pei Zhai forge their own path into the future.
In the exhibition hall, my eye is drawn to a large group photo taken at a celebratory party in 2015. ‘We are one family’, reads the caption. And despite all the changes that come with modernization, that is the enduring, village spirit that gives Pei Zhai its very own, and very special, identity.