The Tengtou Village. /滕头村。[Photo by Fan Jianwei] 樊建威 摄
By Xu Zhuowei
With an area of 1.2 square kilometers, the Tengtou Village is located in Xiaowangmiao Street, Fenghua District, Ningbo. Over the years, Tengtou has achieved remarkable results in pursuing a development path that features ecological development and affluent life. It has successively won awards such as the "Global 500 Roll of Honour for Environmental Achievement" and the "World's Top Ten Harmonious Villages" and was selected as the world's only village representative for the best practice area of Shanghai World Expo 2010.
Though picturesque and prosperous today, Tengtou had its underprivileged and underdeveloped days. Since the early 1960s, a series of initiatives have been taken by the villagers, such as land reclamation, village renovation, enterprises, and eco-tourism, resulting in remarkable economic returns that helped them to achieve the "leap forward" from breaking free from poverty, living a well-off lifestyle, and becoming affluent.
Consisting of various function zones, the Tengtou Eco-tourism Area attracts many tourists. For example, one may find Jiangnan-style (southern of the Yangtze River) gardens, Penjing gardens, green promenade, and other scenic spots in the ecotourism zone; plant tissue cultivation centers, flower and seedling parks, seasonal melon and fruit picking area, among others, in the agricultural experience zone; all together creating an unforgettable rural experience for the tourists.