Yangkou village, a coastal village in Rudong county, Nantong, Jiangsu province, has been becoming increasingly prosperous in recent years.

"In the past, the annual income from farming was only 3,000 or 4,000 yuan ($424 or $565), but now that figure has increased to 300,000 yuan due to a 13,200 yuan transfer fee for 12 mu (0.8 hectares) of farmland annually and incomes from self-employment," said Zong Zaijun, a local villager.

A darmer shows packaged watermelons at Yangkou village in Rudong county, Nantong, Jiangsu province. [Photo/ntfabu.com]

Since 2013, Yangkou village has farmed out 13,619 mu (908 hectares) of land to large growers, according to Fu Guohua, Party secretary of the village. 

Since then, more and more villagers have found jobs in enterprises in the nearby Rudong County Coastal Economic Development Zone. Young villagers no longer rely only on traditional farming, and older villagers have been able to double their incomes from both the land rent and labour salary.

In order to construct a high-quality village in the Jiangsu coastal area, all the funds, assets and resources in Yangkou village were registered, and all contracts were publicly auctioned and leased, which ensure fairness and transparency. 

According to Fu, the collective income of the village reached 7.62 million yuan last year, and that number has now reached nearly 100 million yuan.

Aside from economic growth, Yangkou village has devoted over 15 million yuan into improving the rural living environment. The village used to be barren, but now there are greenhouses and forests everywhere.

Moreover, Yangkou village has implemented four measures to benefit villagers, including giving residents aged over 60 a fixed monthly living allowance, paying accident insurance for the elderly in the village, exempting the costs of raising funds and labour, as well as launching a medical mutual assistance plan.