March 7th, Beijiao town, which has been listed into the first batch of national distinctive small towns, appeared in “First Time”, a program of CCTV-2. The program group not only focused on the characteristic economic model of ancient villages in Beijiao, but also visited enterprises and interviewed entrepreneurs and skilled workers, giving a detailed introduction about industry features of Beijiao, a national famous household appliances country.
Midea’s headquarter in Beijiao.
Invigoration of ancient villages: enhance public life and local industry
The reporter noticed that when introducing Beijiao’s characteristic economic model of ancient villages, some rivers, modern buildings, ancient ancestral halls, private schools, dwellings and gardens appeared alternately, giving audiences a sense of specific Lingnan cultural connotation and modern development advantages of Beijiao.
A scene of rivers in Beijiao.
According to the statistics, more than 100 ancestral halls and temples have been existing in Beijiao, but most of them are in a state of disrepair. In order to bring them back to life, Beijiao took a combination of ancient villages and cultural facilities, fusing ancient buildings with art, trying to transform the environment while maintaining the charms of ancient buildings and scenery.
Since 2016, local government has invested more than 20 million yuan ($2.91 milion)in upgrading historical blocks and recovering ancient streets in Bijiang village, in order to improve living condition of local people and inherit traditional Chinese culture. Feng Kezhan, deputy director of Beijiao Urban Construction and Water Conservancy bureau said Invigoration of ancient villages enhanced citizens’ living environment and has been well recognized by them. “At the same time, these projects appealed visitors from Guangzhou, Shenzhen and other surrounding areas.”
Construction of industrial chain: the whole industrial chain of household appliance has been formed
Except for having strong Lingnan culture atmosphere, Beijiao also is a national famous household appliances country. Nearly 900 household appliance and supporting enterprises are located in Beijiao. The annual value of its household appliance industry is about 100 billion yuan, taking up about 70% of the total output value of Beijiao and about 10% of national household appliance industry. In Beijiao, large household electric enterprises develop better and better, while small and medium-sized enterprises follow and support them. Nowadays, no matter a screw or the whole household appliances can be found in Beijiao easily.
CCTV-2’s report analyzed the development of Beijiao household appliance industry from the perspective of a industrial worker and a entrepreneur.
Li Guoqing is a head of a workshop in a large enterprise in Beijiao. He revealed that he only had about 50,000 yuan ($7267.4) a year in early times. As the development of household appliance industry, this industrial worker who has devoted himself in his work get repay. A decade later, his salary has been quadrupled.
Li Guoqing was interviewed in the workshop.
The growth of industrial design enterprise also plays an important role in the development of Beijiao household appliance industry. Qiu Dengwei, who opened an industrial design workshop in Beijiao, got about 1000 yuan a month in the early stage of his business. His job and income changed a lot after he began to provide customized design plans. Qiu Dengwei said he earns tens of thousands of yuan every month now. From single graphic design to the service integration including structural design, prototyping design and functional design, his experience is an epitome of industrial design industry transformation in Beijiao. Furthermore, as a boost in the development of Beijiao household appliance industry, e-commerce industry grows rapidly. Nowadays, the whole industrial chain of household appliance has been formed.
Written by Yuki