Sanmao Culture Park in Miaoqiao village in Dinghai district, Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/Zhejiang Daily] 

Villages in Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province, have witnessed significant changes since the launch of the Green Rural Revival Project in 2003.

The project is a province-wide campaign that is aimed at improving the rural environment and people's well-being.

Authorities have over the past 20 years been making efforts to improve the living environment of the city's fishing villages, including improving infrastructure through building rural toilets, sewage and domestic garbage facilities, and restoring water and ecological quality.

As of June, there were already 530 standardized operation and maintenance facilities for rural sewage treatment and 877 standard rural toilets.

The local government has also rolled out a raft of measures, including creating civilized neighborhoods, getting local people involved in improving the environment and protecting the marine environment by recycling used batteries, as well as establishing cultural auditoriums to strengthen social governance.

Authorities have also been tapping into natural and cultural resources to develop related industries, which will in turn significantly increase residents' incomes.

Miaoqiao village in the city's Dinghai district has leveraged its connections with Sanmao, whose family's ancestral residence is located in the village, to develop tourism.

Sanmao is the pen name of the late Echo Chan, a Chinese contemporary novelist, writer and translator from Taiwan, whose grandfather built the renowned residence. She was best known for her book Stories of the Sahara. 

The village has built an array of cultural venues such as the Sanmao Culture Park and the Sanmao Prose Prize Exhibition Hall, which attracts nearly 300,000 tourists every year.

Authorities have also rolled out measures to help residents develop industries such as fruit and vegetable picking, as well as homestays.

In addition, authorities have created such business models as bookstores, cafés, cultural and creative fairs, and chain restaurants, all of which play a significant role in providing more jobs to locals.

In 2022, the collective economic income in the city's fishing villages reached 809 million yuan ($110.77 million), with the per capita disposable income of fishermen and farmers totaling 45,924 yuan, an increase of about 8.2 times compared to 2003. The total output value of the fishing and farming industry amounted to 30.6 billion yuan, an increase of over 4 times compared to 2003.