In recent years, the implementation of the “Beautiful Countryside Construction” in rural areas of Hebei Province has been described by local villagers as a mere “facade project”. Numerous villagers have recently raised concerns about issues such as shoddy construction, embezzlement of funds, and long-term lack of supervision, which have severely impacted the daily lives of the villagers.
According to a source familiar with the local situation who identified themselves as Chen Ming, over a decade ago, large-scale construction of village roads and accompanying greening and hardening projects began in rural areas of Hebei. At that time, the construction team would plow the soil, lay lime soil and cobblestones, and build cement road surfaces 18 centimeters thick. Although some of these roads have cracked over time, they have remained functional.
However, the quality of recently reconstructed road sections has significantly declined in the past year or two. Chen Ming revealed that the road section built in Hejian Village this summer was hastily constructed with only construction waste used as backfill, resulting in a decrease of 3 centimeters in cement thickness compared to previous standards, leading to insufficient cement strength and premature cracking.
From afar, these projects may appear impressive, resembling Europe. However, upon entering the villages, potholes, standing water, and trash can be seen everywhere, resembling conditions found in Africa.
Villagers believe that these projects are more about appeasing higher authorities rather than genuinely improving the lives of farmers. Behind the shoddy construction lies the issue of fund misappropriation.
Chen Ming disclosed that for a road project costing three million yuan, proper procedures dictate that it should go through a bidding process. However, Hejian Village opted for a small team of four without construction qualifications to hastily carry out the construction. In pursuit of profits, the town government and county government skimmed funds layer by layer, leaving only five hundred thousand yuan in the end. To cut costs, the construction team used construction waste as backfill, resulting in inadequate cement strength and compromised road quality.
Due to a lack of long-term management, numerous rural roads have shown signs of collapse and water accumulation. Even light vehicles passing over them can cause the road surface to sink and crack.
“When the road deteriorates and you complain to the government, they turn a blind eye. The more deteriorated the road becomes, the entire section becomes impassable,” said Chen Ming, emphasizing that the continuous deterioration of road conditions due to a lack of maintenance severely hampers the daily travel of villagers.
Not only are there issues with the roads, but similar problems exist in some parts of the village regarding greening of residential land and hardening of slopes.
Chen Ming explained that initially, under the “Beautiful Countryside Construction” initiative, without standardized guidelines, villagers themselves resorted to using bricks to harden slopes. With no subsequent supervision or ongoing maintenance, erosion has occurred, protective slopes have mostly flattened out, and they no longer fulfill their intended function as flood protection barriers. In case of heavy rain, water from the river can overflow the protective slopes, causing backflow.
Furthermore, large amounts of trash can be found heaped along the roadsides, in farmland, and along riverbanks in the village. Chen Ming noted that similar situations are prevalent in neighboring villages, suggesting that this could be a widespread issue not just in Hebei Province but also in rural China as a whole.
The “Beautiful Countryside Policy,” also known as the “Beautiful Countryside Construction,” was introduced by the Chinese Communist authorities around 2013 as part of rural governance and development policy aimed at improving rural environments and enhancing infrastructure as part of urban-rural integrated development.
Similar problems in rural areas across the country are not exclusive to Hebei. In January 2020, migrant workers from Shaanxi Province, during their visit to the petition office to demand unpaid wages, exposed corrupt practices behind the “Beautiful Projects.”
Chen Ming lamented that what was once hailed as the “Beautiful Countryside Construction” initiative nationwide has now degenerated into a mere “facade project”. The Communist Party’s promotion of the “Beautiful Village” is far from living up to its name.