With the concerted efforts of the local government and residents, Zhongtang village of Aotou town in Conghua district of Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong province, has become a beautiful countryside with orderly planning, a neat outlook, comprehensive supporting facilities, an excellent eco-environment, an improved governance mechanism and sustainable economic development. 

Strengthening Party building

Fully aware of the importance of leadership in the village's development, the village Party branch and the village committee have been working to improve self-governance in order to enhance service capabilities for the people. The village attaches great importance to make the Party members to play an exemplary role  and integrates Party education into practical work. 

Enhancing infrastructure construction
Zhongtang village prioritizes the infrastructure construction so as to improve the villagers' living environment. 

The village completed its overall road planning and construction to make sure every household in the village was connected. An asphalt road was built from the intersection of Highway G355 into the village, with a green belt along the side of the road. The inner roads have all been upgraded, which has greatly improved the villagers' living environment and boosted business opportunities. 

Moreover, more than 500 road lamps were installed and five garbage sorting collection sites set up. Water supply and sewage treatment were also improved to ensure water quality and sanitation. 

Beautifying the environment for better livability
To make the village prettier, the village cleaned the tiled buildings along the village road, painted or tiling those without. Some buildings were also adapted to blend in better with their surroundings.  

Buildings with historical value and land with ecological value were preserved. Pocket parks and sports facilities were also built to better meet the villagers' needs. 

Improving public services

For the convenience of the elderly, the village committee moved their service station from the second floor to the ground floor and dismantled the wall around it, adapting the site into a square. 

Every 20th day of the 12th lunar month, the village will organize a banquet for the elderly above 60 years old. As the public gathering has been cancelled since the outbreak of COVID-19, the village committee instead brings gifts to the elderly door-by-door, to convey their care and blessings. 

The village also provides free hi-fi equipment to square dance lovers and has built a stage with a roof and lighting so the rain and darkness won't be an issue. 

Developing a high-quality economy

Zhongtang village has a cultivated land area of about 2,900 mu (193 hectares), including 1,650 mu of paddy fields. The main crops are fragrant rice, with the main sources of income for locals being farming and planting, as well as being migrant workers outside of town. 

Thanks to the convenient transportation, an industrial park was established in Aotou town, which occupies an area of 74 mu and houses six enterprises covering food manufacturing and hardware equipment production. The total output value of the park in 2019 was over 90 million yuan ($13.88 million), providing 226 jobs, 201 of which are taken by locals.