望见山，看见水，留住文化根：厦门空壳村“点土成金”记 | Rebuilding a Hometown

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Located between the mountains and the sea, Qingjiao Village is a beautiful place with a pleasant climate. The 39 special ancient houses here give it unique elegance and primitive simplicity.

厦门市海沧区青礁村，背山临海，气候宜人; 39座独具特色的古民居坐落其中，古朴典雅，美轮美奂。

In September 2017, the Ministry of Agriculture proposed to nominate 150 villages as "2017 Best Villages for Recreation." Two villages in Xiamen City were nominated, and Qingjiao was one of them.

今年9月，农业部拟将150个村落推介为2017中国美丽休闲乡村，其中厦门市有两个村入选，青礁村便是其中之一。

However, it's hard to imagine that such a beautiful village was once a totally dirty mess.

然而，谁能想到，曾经的青礁村，其实是脏乱差的代名词。

Young people dropped out of school, either idling about or fighting in the streets. Old people were alone and helpless. Abandoned coops, pigsties and pit latrines were seen almost everywhere. Eventually, Qingjiao was put on the demolition list. 

留村的年轻人辍学打架，游手好闲，老人孤苦无依;废弃的鸡舍、猪圈、旱厕比比皆是，无人打理......终于，青礁村被列入了拆迁名单。

"Had our village been demolished, our memory and nostalgia would be lost. We'll be regretful," said Chen Junxiong, a villager from Yuanqian commune of Qingjiao. He was one of the first youngsters who left the village for business. When he returned, he always thought how wonderful it would be to develop their place again together with his childhood friends. 

“那如果拆迁了，就把我们的回忆给拆了，乡愁给拆了。我们是非常舍不得的。”说这话的是青礁村院前社的村民陈俊雄，村里的年轻人中最早外出经商的一个。回乡后，陈俊雄想，如果能带领从小一起长大的小伙伴们一起发展，那将是一件多么有意义的事。

"So I urged them to change our village together," said Chen.

“于是我就发动他们，一起改变我们的村庄。”陈俊雄说。

Unexpectedly, the idea got everyone's support. Being idle for several years, the young people decided that it's not right. They wanted a change, but didn’t know how to make it happen. Chen's proposal actually pointed a way for them.

没想到，此语一出，竟一下子得到了大家的支持。原来，无所事事了好几年的年轻人们也觉得不能再这样下去，他们也想要改变，只是苦于找不到方向。陈俊雄的提议，正好为他们指明了一条道路。

Before long, they got rid of bad habits. In 2014, the rebuilding of the village began. They started working before seven o'clock, replacing coops and pigsties with flowers and lawns, digging canals and repairing ancient houses. "Those 39 houses were built in the Ming and Qing dynasties. We didn't want to ruin such beautiful legacies in our hands." 

很快，他们就改变了原先的坏习惯，每天早上六七点钟就开始忙前忙后，拆除鸡鸭猪舍、种花种草、通山理水、修复古民居......“39栋古民居是从明清时期留下来的，大家不想这么漂亮的古民居在我们这一代给衰败了。”

With joint efforts of these young people, Qingjiao Village changed dramatically within merely a year. "Now, the ecological environment is very good, and you can find fireflies here at night," Chen said proudly.

正是因为这一群年轻人的加入，不到一年的时间里，青礁村发生了天翻地覆的变化。“现在，我们村的生态非常好，晚上还会有萤火虫！”陈俊雄骄傲地说。

Much to Chen's delight, his friends eventually develop the initiative to do something for the village. They started proposing plans on how to revive their once beautiful hometown.

更让陈俊雄感到欣喜的是，以前，村里的年轻人们在跟自己聊天的时候，聊的都是“你往后要做什么”，而现在不一样了。他们更多地会谈“我们将来要做什么”。正是这种语言上的转变让陈俊雄觉得他们真正走上了同一条道路。

Now, Qingjiao has become an ecological and cultural village in Fujian Province. Seeing that their hometown can now provide them with chances to develop, more and more young people are coming back. Chen Junxiong and his friends are planning to build a space for rural tourism, sharing their experiences with more people like them.

如今的青礁村已经蜕变为“闽台生态文化村”。看到在家乡也能同样施展自己的才华，干出一番作为，越来越多的年轻人开始返乡发展。接下来，陈俊雄将和小伙伴们一起打造乡村旅游创客空间，和更多的人分享青礁村年轻人的的创业之路。

Cameraman: Zhang Jinbo

Film editor: Tan Di, Ma Mingyuan

Story written by: Wang Xiaoxiao

English editor: April Espejo

 

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