Recently, with the completion of renovation works on three rural roads—Huangtang, Shuibei, and Niuhu—the Shenshan Special Cooperation Zone reported good news: since the beginning of 2025, a total of 44 rural roads have been upgraded across the Zone, covering a total length of 42 kilometers.

The three roads—key access routes to Huangtang, Shuibei, and Aohu in Xiabei Village—span more than 1,600 meters in total. Originally built to relatively low standards, they were only able to meet basic travel needs for local residents. Due to prolonged service, the roads have gradually developed surface damage, cracks, and edge breakage.

In recent years, amid Shenshan’s ongoing “Hundred, Thousand, and Ten Thousand Project” to boost rural development and farmers’ incomes, Xiabei Village has fully mobilized idle housing resources, introduced smart agriculture platform systems, and developed an organic, selenium-rich mushroom production base. The village has also expanded into outreach activities such as vegetable-picking and the “Zhenghe Banquet” agritainment dining experiences. These efforts have steadily increased the village’s collective income while creating local employment opportunities. However, the aging road network could no longer meet the demands of rapid economic and social development in the area.

Against this backdrop, the Zone’s transport authorities swiftly launched road upgrading initiatives. By widening lanes, adding passing bays, improving drainage systems, and optimizing signage and road markings, they effectively eliminated safety hazards and further enhanced the rural living environment. The improved rural roads also better support surrounding areas, smoothing the outbound transport of local agricultural specialties such as emperor mandarin and golden passion fruit, thereby facilitating the development of Xiabei Village as a model village.

“With asphalt roads now leading right to our doorsteps, many villagers say it feels a bit like living in a big city,” said Liang Guizhong, head of Aohu.

According to the Zone’s transport authorities, the next steps will focus on the long-term maintenance and refined management of high-quality rural roads. The goal is to ensure that rural roads in Shenshan truly serve as roads that protect villagers’ daily travel, as well as pathways for transporting farm products and facilitating rural industrial development.