Farewell to Peasant China: Rural Urbanization and Social Change in the Late Twentieth Century: Rural Urbanization and Social Change in the Late Twentieth Century by Gregory Eliyu Guldin

Author:Gregory Eliyu Guldin [Guldin, Gregory Eliyu]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Ethnic Studies, History & Theory, Social Science, Political Science, Regional Studies, General
ISBN: 9781315293431
Google: 0aAYDQAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 32206353
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 1997-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

II. Changes in Caitang’s Overall Economic Structure

The Caitang Administrative Village is a rural area under change on Xiamen Island, in the city’s nearby suburbs. Situated north of Yundingyan, it is only 5 km from the Xiamen train station, a 20–minute ride by bike. The village originally had three natural villages, Dashe, Xiaoshe, and Gudishi. In 1962, Xiaoshe hamlet was requisitioned as part of the site of a lakeside reservoir and its inhabitants moved to Dashe. The administrative village now embraces two hamlets, Caitang and Gudishi villages. On its eastern, western, and northern sides, Caitang borders on the reservoir lake while Gudishi borders the reservoir on its eastern side. To the south of Caitang is a road that links with the asphalt highway from Lianban to Hecuo, giving easy access to Xiamen city. During 1984–85, the administrative village had 205 households with 1,030 people. During May-July, 1993, it had 223 households with 1,196 people.

Caitang’s economy has always been closely bound with that of Xiamen. Its main occupation in the past was to grow vegetables for Xiamen as one of the eleven vegetable suppliers of the Xiamen Municipal Vegetable Company. The company guided Caitang’s vegetable growing by linking vegetables with grain and fertilizers. That is, it purchased the village’s vegetables and sold back to it corresponding quantities of food grain and fertilizers. Administratively, Caitang did not belong to the company, but to the former Qianxian (“Frontlines”) Commune and later Heshan xiang. In 1987, with State Council approval, Xiamen Municipality adjusted its administrative districting and set up the new Huli District. Caitang and other villages to the north of Xiamen came under Huli District’s Heshan Township, thus becoming a village in the municipality. Along with Xiamen’s economic development, Caitang’s overall economic structure also underwent a tremendous change.

In the past, Caitang relied on vegetable production, and its specialty was betel nuts, which were large and soft. According to 1978 statistics, the village’s aggregate income that year was some 375,000 yuan, of which 216,000 yuan, or 57.6 percent, was agricultural income. Of the latter, income from vegetables made up 181,000 yuan, or 83.66 percent of total agricultural income and 48.3 percent of aggregate income. Grain grown for village consumption yielded some 27,000 yuan, or 12.66 percent of total agricultural income and 7.2 percent of aggregate income. The chief oil crop was peanuts, yielding an income of 7,935 yuan, or 3.66 percent of agricultural income and 2.1 percent of aggregate income. Income from subsidiary sources was 76,319 yuan,12 20.4 percent of aggregate income. Of this, the chief product was greenhouse mushrooms, income from which was 57,149 yuan, or 74.9 percent of total subsidiary income and 15.3 percent of aggregate income. The rest of its income came from machine-made bricks manufactured by the production teams, which yielded 19,170 yuan, or 25.1 percent of subsidiary income and 5.1 percent of aggregate income. In addition, in 1978, Caitang owned a brigade enterprise which calculated its accounting independently. This enterprise had workshops for farm-tool repairs, zinc-plating, machine-sawing, and a machine-pressed-brick plant.

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