Dongjin Village, Jingjiang City, Jiangsu Province: Anchoring “red, green, and gold” to boost “essence, energy, and spirit”

During the National Day holiday, the "Red Dongjin Memorial Hall" located in Dongjin Village, Shengci Town, Jingjiang City, Jiangsu Province, welcomed batches of tourists. In the five-pointed star-shaped exhibition hall, objects and images connect memories of the turbulent years. Visitors can simulate sending telegrams and participate in the "Re-walking the Long March" experience, making the history in books tangible and tangible.

Dongjin Village is the cradle of Jingjiang’s red revolution. During the Anti-Japanese War, the Jingjiang County Working Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Jingjiang County Anti-Japanese Democratic Government were born here. “What passes away is the smoke of gunfire, but what remains immortal is the spirit.” Zhang Jinrong, secretary of the Party Committee of Dongjin Central Village, said that in this red hot land, Dongjin Village adheres to the integrated development of “red leadership, green development, and golden dreams”, continues to boost the spirit, energy, and spirit of the village, and builds the former poor village into a national civilized village and a national model village for democracy and rule of law.

In 2024, after the "Red East March Memorial Hall" was renovated and opened to the public, the village insisted on opening a "Saturday Red Lecture Hall", where veteran party members and advanced representatives took the stage to preach about the revolutionary past. The village took the lead in compiling the book "Red March East", which displays the deeds of the country's heroes and martyrs in the museum. Not long ago, the daughter of the late martyr Chiang Huimin returned home from Shanghai. She burst into tears when she saw the photo of her father at the memorial hall. A short video shot by netizens was widely circulated on social platforms.

Under the guidance of red, Dongjin Village is deeply engaged in green and efficient agriculture. The whole village focuses on large-scale farming, with specialty industries such as lotus root, crab, and shrimp taking root, and creating three major sectors: aquatic vegetables, special aquaculture, and an agricultural ecological park. The village introduced a professional company to be responsible for operations, built a municipal-level rural revitalization college, held the "Eastward Lotus Festival", and linked enterprises to develop agricultural and cultural tourism projects, and many boutique B&Bs and red studies blossomed. In 2025, the village's collective economic income will reach 4.887 million yuan, and the village's collective public assets will exceed 50 million yuan, and the collective economy will enter a virtuous cycle.

The scenery of the fields in Dongjin Village. Photo provided by interviewee

"The most lacking thing for the development of a place is not money, but essence, energy and spirit. Only when people are united and energetic can a place have the power to develop." Zhang Jinrong said with emotion. While improving the quality of the industry, Dongjin Village firmly focuses on the construction of spiritual civilization. The village has innovatively implemented the party member point system and the villager point management system, established a team of "five elders" supervisors, held centralized discussions and presentations every month, selected "good people going eastward", coordinated family, school, and social education, and cultivated a simple rural style.

After more than 20 years of hard work, Dongjin Village has achieved a transformation. Today, red roots, green industries, and golden visions are intertwined and symbiotic. Dongjin Village is moving steadily towards a new rural model with strong industry, beautiful environment, honest rural customs, safe governance, and prosperous people. (over)