Mr. Zhang Jianlong, Longde’s “Cattle King,” grinned as he showed me around his modern cattle facility at the Tenglong Animal Husbandry Cooperative in Zhangshu Village, Shatang Town, Longde County, Guyuan of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

A cow mooed softly and nuzzled my palm contently as I scratched its chin. The cattle stalls were clean, and the landscape outside reminded me of a garden rather than a farm or ranch, with a broad variety of trees, shrubs and flowers alongside the buildings. Zhang’s beautifully tiled home is a marriage of traditional architecture and modern conveniences—and several times the size of my own home in Xiamen!

“For someone who could not get into university, you’ve done very well!” I said, “How did you end up with such a successful enterprise?” (Fig. 10.1).

Fig. 10.1
An image represents a conversation between Professor William Brown and farmer Zhang Jianlong.

Prof. William Brown interviewing farmer Zhang Jianlong in Longde, Ningxia on July 15, 2019. Photo by Zhu Qingfu

Full size image

“When I realized I could not get into college, I became a laborer in other provinces — Xinjiang in the far west, Hebei, etc.”

“What kind of labor?” I asked.

“I began as a laborer on construction sites, and over time became a skilled laborer. Some other young people in our village created a labor team. Jobs were plentiful around 1999 and 2000 but then slowed down, and since 2010 or so, such work was unreliable, so we returned home. China is vast and has abundant resources. We have lots of peasants and lots of land. Waves of migrant workers led many people out of their homes over the past decade and, after seeing the opportunities, many didn’t want to return home. But a few like me chose to come back home.”

“But why leave opportunities in cities to come back home, given Ningxia’s poverty?” I asked.

“Even though our home is poor and arid, we still saw development opportunities. We first tried starting an insulation board factory. Winters in northwest China are very cold, but insulation boards can save heating bills. I first saw insulation boards while I was working in Hebei. They were very good but no one made them here in Ningxia, even though it gets very cold in the winter, so we set up the first factory for insulation boards in Guyuan. Since 2008, these insulation boards have become very popular.”

“But how did you go from insulation boards to raising beef cattle?”

“Well, China had developed, and I saw a report that China’s higher living standards had created a big consumer market. I also learned that Chinese were eating more beef, which was then in short supply, and was mostly imported from Brazil, Australia, the US and some other countries. With many young people in the cities, and the elderly unable to till the land, much of the farmland was being wasted. We used techniques imported from abroad to plant corn and grass for cattle feed. As a native Ningxia farmer, I saw that the state subsidies for raising cattle, coupled with vast swaths of idle land, made raising cattle a perfect way to develop our village and help fight poverty.”

In August 2010, Mr. Zhang bought over 50 Simmental calves to fatten up, and four months later he sold 20 head for a profit of RMB20,000. Within only two years, his cattle profits earned him enough to pay off the RMB3.6 million loan he’d incurred starting the project. At his peak, he had over 400 heads of cattle, and helped lift many villagers out of poverty.

“How much can a couple make from raising cattle?” I asked.

Mr. Zhang smiled. “If a husband and wife raise 10 cows and plant 50 acres of land, they can earn about RMB100,000 a year, and the average person can earn RMB50,000 a year. I told my fellow villagers that right here at home they could get an average urban salary for doing farm work. They would not have to live in the big city but would still be able to stay home and enjoy our country life. Although we can handle urban life for a time, we can’t live there for our entire lives. Sooner or later, we must return home.”

“Compared to 1994, when you first drove through Ningxia, people’s lives have really changed drastically. Although our scale is not particularly large, we strictly follow the national food safety and quality requirements. Our beef is fresh, pure and natural, without any additives, it is tasty and tender. Imported meat, by comparison, is frozen.”

“And I’ve seen that you have cooperated with Xiamen University (XMU)?”

“Yes, the Ministry of Education paired XMU with the county of Longde, and since 2016, XMU has chosen talented people to serve as our village’s first Party secretary. Now we have a deep relationship with XMU. We also have medical support from Xiamen, with the Xiang’an Hospital sending many experts to consult at our Longde County People’s Hospital. The Ophthalmology Hospital in Xiamen has also promised to perform 500 operations here in Longde within the next two years. Patients can see a doctor for free.”

“You’ve certainly been taking advantage of all of this support,” I said. “Do you have more plans for the future?”

“Yes, we do!” Mr. Zhang said. “We plan to make beef jerky for a village collective that will send it across the country. Another goal is to give priority to sending outstanding talents to study at XMU, with which we have a close emotional affinity. Our county of 180,000 people is well known for being so impoverished, but one advantage of having no industry here is that we have no pollution!

“Thanks to our rapid development in recent years, our per-capita income has already exceeded RMB10,000. When you visited in 1994, we still struggled for food and clothing, and the best means of transport around was a bicycle. Our entire village had only one TV set— a black and white one — so everyone crowded around to watch it. There were almost no other electrical appliances of any kind. And at that time, we certainly didn’t eat beef. Only on Chinese New Year did we eat meat. The rest of the time I ate noodles, and very little rice. My only vegetables were those I could grow myself. But today every home has a refrigerator, and we can eat meat anytime we want it. Not only does every home have a color TV set but many people also have a car and can travel at their will. And every house is well furnished — like mine! In a word, people’s lives are getting better and better.”

After leaving his house, I met a few locals in the village park, which has outdoor tables and benches, sculptures, and beautiful paintings on the walls. One of the farmers asked if we could exchange WeChat contacts.

“You have WeChat?” I asked.

He smiled shyly. “Of course. We use WeChat all the time, and buy and sell online with Taobao.”

What a different world from the dry, dusty place that in 1994 the UN claimed was impoverished beyond hope. By UN standards it may well have been hopeless, but it seems no place is beyond the reach of Chinese Dream pursuers and migrant workers-turned Cattle King like Mr. Zhang.