“Three Reforms” Overcome “Three Difficulties”: Nangou Village’s Remarkable Transformation

This is Nangou Village, located in Ansai District, Yan’an City, Shaanxi Province in northwest China—a place once dubbed by locals as the “Three Difficulty Village.” Difficulties in transportation, getting married, and village governance were once stark realities here. With weak infrastructure, Nangou Village had long suffered from poor accessibility, communication, and the lack of a pillar industry. Villagers relied on traditional farming or working outside the village, and the village collective economy was virtually nonexistent.

The village’s transformation was made possible by a rural property rights reform. Under the leadership and support of the township Party Committee and Government, the village Party branch guided villagers in pioneering a new model: turning resources into assets, capital into shares, and farmers into shareholders.

In 2014, Nangou Village held a village assembly and established a shareholding cooperative. Over 20,000 mu of idle and low-yield land was consolidated, along with 250,000 yuan in village collective funds and 450,000 yuan in targeted poverty alleviation funds allocated to 45 low-income households. These assets were pooled together to invest in a leading local enterprise for an initiative that supported the growth of modern agriculture, rural tourism, and animal husbandry.

Profits generated were shared annually, with fixed and performance-based dividends paid to the cooperative, which were then distributed among villagers based on their shareholding ratios. Cultivated land receives a dividend of 906 yuan per mu, and uncultivated land receives a dividend of 50 yuan per mu.

Apple farming has become one of Nangou Village’s key sources of income. Located in the heart of the Loess Plateau in northwest China, Ansai District boasts a high elevation and abundant sunlight—ideal conditions for growing apples.

Following the reform, the village cooperative and Yan’an Huimin Agricultural Technology Development Co. developed 1,060 mu of dwarf-dense orchards. By introducing new varieties and modern farming techniques—integrating water and fertilizer systems, hail protection nets, and drone-based spraying—the village saw stable and increasing apple yields. At full maturity, each mu yields an annual income of around 2,200 yuan. The village collective now receives more than 100,000 yuan in dividends each year.

At the same time, Nangou Village has leveraged its ecological and geographical advantages to vigorously develop rural tourism. It has gradually built an eco-agriculture demonstration park integrating leisure fishing, specialty accommodation, and farming experiences. With projects like dune ATVs, fishing parks, and eco-lodges, the once ordinary village has become a popular tourist spot. In 2023 alone, Nangou received 500,000 visitors and generated over 30 million yuan in tourism-related income.

From muddy paths to paved roads, from a struggling “Three-Difficulty village” to a model rural tourism destination in Yan’an, Nangou Village has revitalized key production factors such as land, labor, and natural resources through property rights reform. This has not only fueled rapid industrial growth, but also motivated the cooperative, businesses, and villagers, enabling a “magnificent transformation” and bringing unprecedented vitality and prosperity to this land.