Please tell me about the economic development of karst

Our country is an area rich in karst resources. Most of the majestic and beautiful karst landscapes grow in remote and poor areas. With the development of karst tourism resources, the process of getting rid of poverty in karst areas and becoming prosperous is accelerating. Carefully studying the relationship between resource development and regional economic development in karst areas and the rules of resource transformation are major issues facing the party committee and government in the region.

1. Characteristics of karst resources and their impact on regional economic development

Natural resources are an important basis for human survival and an important factor in regional economic development. Natural resource conditions including regional geographical characteristics, climate characteristics, hydrological characteristics and land, biological and mineral resources. Karst resources are a unique landscape resource. The so-called "karst" refers to a material geological process caused by the interaction of water and soluble rocks. When water circulates on the surface of soluble rock mass and in the cracks in different directions in the rock mass, it produces dissolution and a certain degree of mechanical erosion, forming a unique dissolution landscape on the surface and inside the rock mass. Karst resources mainly have the following three characteristics:

Non-renewability Karst landscape resources formed over hundreds of millions of years are not only very limited, but also non-renewable. Therefore, from the perspective of sustainable development of human society, it is particularly important to rationally utilize and effectively protect the resources due to the non-renewable nature of karst resources.

Ornamental This is the most unique property of karst resources. The large-scale and majestic peaks, the various and lifelike stone forests and stalactites constitute a magnificent picture that is stunning and pleasing to the eye. Fully understanding and grasping the uniqueness of karst resources and promoting the transformation of resource advantages into tourism industry advantages are the keys to the development of karst resources.

Regionality The distribution of any kind of resource on the earth is uneven, with significant regional differences in quantity and quality. Every natural resource has its own special geographical distribution pattern, especially karst resources. The distribution of Xingwen karst is different from that of Yunnan and Guizhou karst. This difference in distribution and combination will have a significant impact on the development and utilization of resources.

Integrity Various natural resource elements in each region are ecologically linked to each other, forming a whole, that is, a natural ecosystem. The development and utilization of one of the resources may lead to the development and utilization of other resources in the system or karst water resources, animal and plant resources in the environmental area. This holistic feature requires people to adhere to the principles of rational research, comprehensive development, and utilizing strengths and avoiding weaknesses in the development and utilization of natural resources.

Karst resources are very limited and valuable landscape resources. Reasonable development and effective protection of this resource have an important impact on regional economic development.

1. The quantity of karst resources affects the scale of regional tourism development. Natural resources are the natural material basis for regional production development. The greater the amount of a certain natural resource, the greater the scale of production that can be developed using that natural resource. The greater the distribution of karst landscape in a region, the greater the scale and potential of tourism development in this region. Tourism development in Guilin, Yunnan and other places is based on the possession of karst resources.

2. The quality and development and utilization conditions of karst resources affect the economic benefits of regional production activities. For the same resource, if its quality and development and utilization conditions are different, the development and utilization methods will be different. The cost input, labor productivity, product quality, market sales, etc. in the development and utilization process will also be different, and the economic benefits will be different. For example, national scenic spots and world heritage sites are both scenic spots, but due to different tastes and quality of resources, and different levels and methods of development, the benefits they produce are also different. Generally speaking, the higher the quality of resources, the better the conditions for development, and the greater the drive and impact on the regional economy.

3. The geographical combination of karst resources affects the regional industrial structure. Natural resources are the basis for industrial development. With certain resources, it is possible to develop industries that focus on the development and utilization of such resources. Areas rich in karst resources often form a regional economic structure dominated by tourism. For example, in the Xingwen area, the tertiary industry was underdeveloped in the past and there were very few hotels and restaurants. With the development of karst scenic spots in recent years, an economic structure based on agricultural and sideline product processing, tourism product processing, and catering and entertainment industries has gradually formed. The regional distribution of production is closely consistent with the geographical distribution of resources.

2. Current status of development and utilization of Xingwen karst resources

Xingwen County, Yibin City, Sichuan Province is located in the transition zone between the Sichuan Basin and the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, and is a mountain range at the northern end of the Wumeng Mountain. It borders Jiang'an and Naxi counties to the north, Xuyong County to the east, Weixin County of Yunnan to the south, and Gongxian and Changning counties to the west. The county covers an area of ??1,362 square kilometers and governs 21 towns, 322 villages, and 428,400 people, including 5 Miao townships and a Miao population of 36,000. It is the largest Miao settlement in Sichuan Province. Xingwen is a remote and impoverished mountainous county and was once a national-level impoverished county. In 2002, the county's GDP was 1.171 billion yuan, the whole society's fixed asset investment was 327 million yuan, local fiscal revenue was 29.76 million yuan, and the per capita net income of farmers was 2,076 yuan.

Xingwen is one of the typical areas for the development of karst geology and landforms in my country. The widely distributed karst resources have formed such as Tianquan Cave, large and small karst funnels, karst canyons, and numerous surface stone buds and peak clusters. , Peak Forest and many other precious karst geological and landform wonders. Professor Zhu Xuewen, a famous cave expert, once commented on Xingwen Stone Forest: "World-class funnels, a large number of inflow caves, complete karst drainage basins, excellent karst development conditions, long The history of karst evolution, the superposition, inheritance and rebirth of karst development in different stages of ancient and modern times constitute the basic characteristics of 'Xingwen style' karst development. "Many experts who have investigated the Xingwen karst landscape also agree that such a complete karst landscape. , is truly the first in China and rare in the world. It can be called a karst museum and a rare karst textbook.

Nature has given the people of Xingwen such a beautiful karst landscape, creating a rich material foundation and favorable conditions for the development of Xingwen County's economy. However, the development and utilization of karst tourism resources has experienced a long and tortuous history.

Xingwen used karst landscape resources to develop tourism. It started early and developed slowly. As early as May 1, 1980, Shihaidong Township Scenic Area was opened to the outside world. In 1986, the "Shihaidong Township" scenic spot became the first batch of provincial-level scenic spots. Party and state leaders Hu Yaobang, Song Renqiong, Zhang Aiping and others visited and inspected successively. Relevant provincial and municipal leaders have visited the scenic spot many times to guide the work. Historians, geoscientists, and teachers and students from relevant majors in colleges and universities have visited the scenic spots to inspect and conduct intuitive teaching. The popularity of the "Shihaidong Township" scenic spot continues to increase, and the number of tourists is increasing day by day. From 1980 to 1985, the number of tourists increased from more than 30,000 to more than 90,000. In five years, it received more than 390,000 Chinese and foreign tourists.

With the continuous deepening of my country's reform and opening up and the continuous development of economy and society, many scenic spots across the country have rapidly emerged in the mid-to-late 1980s, and the level of development and construction of scenic spots has gradually improved. Even Lishihai Shunan Bamboo Sea, which is only 40 kilometers away from Dongxiang, has also accelerated its development pace and is at the forefront. Due to various reasons, Shihaidong Township has fallen far behind many scenic spots across the country since the late 1980s. The number of tourists has dropped year by year, with only 20,000 people in 2001. Xiaotiao has become neglected, employees want to leave, and businesses have declined. Tragic situation. Since the advantages of karst resources have not been transformed into advantages in the tourism industry, strategically speaking, the development of the county economy has not yet seen breakthrough progress and fundamental changes.

Looking back at the history of Xingwen karst resource development, it can be seen that with abundant resources, it is not necessarily possible to cultivate good industries, and the development of regional economy does not necessarily lead to new breakthroughs. How to turn karst resource advantages into tourism industry advantages and regional economic advantages does require serious reflection and summary.

1. In an area that is both remote and impoverished but rich in karst tourism resources, how to accelerate county economic development requires us to clarify our thinking, clarify our goals, adjust our structure, break through key points, and achieve the goal as quickly as possible. Speed ??transforms resource advantages into economic advantages, thereby driving people in karst areas out of poverty and becoming prosperous.

2. The development of county economy must break the rules. It must fully understand its own county conditions, its own advantages and disadvantages, its own economic characteristics and its position in the country and even the world, and identify strategic breakthroughs. Only in Only by making a real breakthrough at the breakthrough point and making a fuss about the advantages and characteristics can the transformation of resources enter the track of healthy development. If we can take advantage of the situation and continue to innovate, the county economic development strategy can be implemented and realized as scheduled.

3. In the development of karst scenic spots, system, talent and capital are the three key elements. And the system is the key.

Only 3 million yuan was invested in the development of Shihaidong Township from 1980 to 2001. The key was institutional obstacles. Without eliminating institutional obstacles, breaking through old frameworks, and reforming and innovating, we will not be able to grasp the key, and it will be difficult to solve the investment problem in scenic area development.

4. The adjustment of the industrial structure in karst areas should be driven and promoted from the strategic perspective of sustainable development and closely centered on the development of karst tourism resources. The key to structural adjustment is what kind of leading industries and auxiliary industries should be cultivated. If the leading industries are not selected accurately, or there are too many leading industries, it will bring immeasurable losses to the development of the regional economy and even cause the regional economy to stagnate. . For example, karst areas are rich in tourism resources, and at the same time they are also rich in underground mineral resources. Whether to mainly develop tourism resources or coal and sulfur resources, strategically speaking, from the trend of economic globalization and the continuous upgrading of consumer demand, The choice of the leading industry is unquestionable. Karst areas must proceed from the strategic perspective of sustainable development and focus on the development of karst tourism resources. This is the basic conclusion drawn from Xingwen's 22-year development history.

3. The development of Xingwen karst resources and the leap-forward development of county economy

The acceleration of economic globalization and the opportunities and challenges brought about by my country's accession to the WTO have once again impacted People in karst areas, especially leading cadres at all levels in karst areas. Facing increasingly fierce market competition and severe challenges, they have to re-examine their strengths and weaknesses, and have to re-select and find their own development path.

(1) Selection and cultivation of leading industries

In the development of regional economy, the first thing to determine is what to develop, and the second is how to develop. Therefore, a very important task for local party committees and governments is to strategically study and decide what are the leading industries for regional economic development? How to speed up the development of leading industries?

The so-called leading industry, that is, the leading industry, is an industry or industrial group that can drive the development of the entire regional industry. The leading industry is the core of the regional economy. It determines the development direction, speed, nature and scale of the regional economy, and reflects the position of a certain region in the national geographical division of labor. The method for determining leading industries should generally start from three aspects: quantitative, qualitative and comprehensive analysis. This article mainly takes Xingwen as an example to discuss from the perspective of comprehensive analysis, and looks at the necessity and feasibility of Xingwen choosing tourism as its leading industry from the analysis and comparison of regional advantages and disadvantages.

First of all, look at the location advantage. Xingwen is far away from big markets, 480 kilometers away from the provincial capital Chengdu, 108 kilometers away from the medium-sized city Yibin, and 86 kilometers away from Luzhou. Its location has almost no advantages at all. It is a typical remote and impoverished mountainous county. Due to its remote location, the historical foundation for economic and social development in this region is relatively weak.

Secondly, from the perspective of resource advantages. As mentioned before, Xingwen karst resources are extremely rich and it is one of the famous karst tourist attractions in the country. It has the provincial-level scenic spot Bowang Mountain, the World Geopark, the National Geopark, and the national-level scenic spot Xingwen Stone Sea. At the same time, the region is also extremely rich in mineral resources, including 1.1 billion tons of coal reserves, 13.5 billion tons of pyrite, and 4.8 billion tons of salt ore. Since coal mining has been around for nearly 30 years, the industry is still one of the main sources of fiscal revenue. However, due to the negative impacts such as environmental damage and frequent safety accidents caused by coal mining, its resource advantages have gradually turned into resource disadvantages.

Third, from the perspective of technical advantages. Xingwen has long relied on the mining industry as its pillar industry. Most of its products are primary products with low technical content, backward production technology and equipment, low technical literacy of the labor force, and low mastery of new technologies. From a strategic point of view, Xingwen's mining industry as its leading industry lacks comparative advantages and sustained market competitiveness.

Fourth, from the perspective of industrial advantages. The primary and secondary industries in Xingwen County are relatively backward, relatively traditional, small in scale, with low degree of modern organization and unclear comparative advantages. The tourism industry has obvious characteristics, large scale and high grade. Especially with the improvement of people's living standards and the continuous upgrading of consumer demand, Xingwen tourism industry, which takes karst natural landscape as the main body, has very prominent industrial advantages, such as development and cultivation If you do well, it is entirely possible to go nationwide and to the world.

It can be seen that although Xingwen’s karst tourism resources and mineral resources are very rich and are currently indispensable industrial pillars compared to other industries, no matter from the long-term consideration of sustainable development , or from the analysis of the comprehensive conditions of the industry itself, it is obviously inappropriate to lead the mining industry. The focus of the county economy must be shifted to the development and construction of karst tourism resources, and a new path must be found in the cultivation of tourism-led industries, so as to Comprehensively promote the leap-forward development of regional economy.

(2) Establishment of strategic breakthroughs and protection of resources

The cultivation and expansion of leading industries is a complicated and systematic project. Karst areas, in particular, should closely combine their own specific realities and distinguish Prioritize, select strategic breakthrough points, pursue breakthroughs unremittingly, gradually realize the transformation of resource advantages into economic advantages, and ultimately promote the prosperity and virtuous cycle of the county economy. The characteristics and advantages of Xingwen County are concentrated in Xingwen Stone Sea, and the potential and hope of tourism are also in Xingwen Stone Sea. The development and construction of Xingwen Stone Sea already has a certain foundation. Playing the card of Xingwen Stone Sea well and building the leader of Xingwen Stone Sea will drive the development of karst resources in the county, which is a strategic breakthrough for the revitalization and development of the tourism industry. . Only with breakthroughs in points can we achieve leapfrog development in general.

Declaring a national key scenic spot is key. Starting from 1996, the Xingwen County Party Committee and County Government, based on the long-term strategy of economic and social development, restarted the application for the Xingwen Shihai National Key Scenic Area. Later, they successively launched the application for the National Geopark and the World Geopark, covering the entire county. After six years of hard work, Xingwen Stone Sea was officially approved by the State Council as a national key scenic spot in May 2002, a national geological park in March 2004, and a national geological park in February 2005. The approval as a World Geopark has laid a solid foundation for the development of Xingwen tourism, and also brought a once-in-a-lifetime historical opportunity for economic and social leaps.

Closing the sulfur plants around the scenic area is an important measure. Chuanyan Plant and Xingyan Plant were the largest sulfur plants around Xingwen Shihai at that time, employing more than 2,000 people. They were once famous pillar enterprises in Xingwen. Due to over-exploitation of Sichuan and Xing mines, Xingwen Stone Sea has not only become an important slag accumulation place, but also due to severe air pollution, the entire Xingwen Stone Sea Scenic Area is almost barren of grass. Therefore, in 1996, after making the difficult decision of whether to close the mine or not, we made the decision to close down the Sichuan and Xing mines and completely eradicate this cancer growing in the Xingwen Shihai Scenic Area. Substantial steps have been taken in the effective protection of resources in Xingwen Shihai Scenic Area.

The construction of tourist ring roads is the foundation. Travel is an important part of the six major elements of the tourism industry. If tourism is to develop, transportation must come first. Highway construction plays a very important role in tourism development. In the late 1990s, Xingwen County regarded highway construction as an important part of promoting tourism development. The county invested nearly 100 million to build 100 kilometers of high-grade cement roads for tourism loops such as Yanxian Road, Xingshi Road, Gugao Road, and Yanbo Road to communicate It has strengthened the connection with the wider environment outside the region, shortened the distance from the big market, and laid an important foundation for tourism development and regional economic development in the karst area.

(3) Innovation and high starting point construction in key links

Most karst areas are poor areas. Therefore, in the process of development and resource transformation, we must be brave and good at key points. Innovation and breakthrough in every aspect. Xingwen is a poor mountainous county with a lack of financial resources and very difficult finances. However, it always adheres to a high starting point, high standards, high quality and high efficiency in tourism development, and strives to build a world-class tourism brand. The first is institutional reform. In response to the current situation of tourism starting early, slow resource transformation and insufficient investment, we boldly promoted the restructuring of the original state-owned company in Shihaidong Township and established a new state-controlled joint-stock company. The second is high starting point planning. The county invested more than 1 million yuan to hire senior experts to revise and improve the county's general and detailed tourism plans, integrate the county's tourism resources, and lay the foundation for tourism and sustainable development. The third is high-standard construction. We hired nationally renowned chief landscape architects, chief planners, senior engineers and other experts to conduct on-site inspections of Xingwen Shihai and carry out scientific and reasonable planning and design.

Nearly 80 million yuan was invested to rapidly promote the construction of 65 main projects including the mountain gate, visitor center, Miao Cultural Square, artificial lake, plank road, parking lot, and star-rated toilets. The cave landscape was comprehensively renovated with lighting, and residents in the scenic area were relocated. More than 180 tombs have been relocated to make the scenic spot more natural, beautiful, humane and attractive. The fourth is the creation of a development environment. On the one hand, extensive publicity is carried out throughout the county to form a public awareness of building a major tourism county. On the other hand, we will vigorously implement the "Hundred Miles of Green Corridor" project and convert farmland into forests along tourist circuits and within sight of scenic spots. On the other hand, private capital was introduced to the development of hotels, restaurants, tourist food, tourist souvenirs and other related industries, and the tourism industry chain was continuously extended. In just over a year, the three-star hotel "Dongxiang Hotel" was built successively. , two-star "Yinfeng Hotel", "Xingwen Hotel" and "Wenshuixi Resort". A series of tourism food and tourist souvenir development companies such as "Shihai Tourism Commodity Company", "Jingshi Liquor Industry", "Bowang Bamboo Shoot Industry" and "Shihai Pickles" have been established and put into operation.

(4) Establishment of the framework of a major tourism county and realization of strategic goals

Xingwen’s county conditions, Xingwen’s resources and location characteristics determine that it must be built in accordance with the principles of building a major tourism county. It is required to make the tourism industry stronger and bigger. Building a major tourism county not only requires increasing the cultivation and development of tourism-led industries, promoting the transformation of tourism resource advantages into economic advantages, and increasing the proportion of the tourism industry in GDP. The key is to give full play to its main industry chain and main It plays a leading role in realizing the coordinated development of leading industries and auxiliary industries, thereby promoting the overall leap forward in county economic development. This requires the local party committee and government to stand at the strategic height of regional economic development, fully grasp the local reality, and build a scientific and reasonable county economic structure. On the basis of summarizing the experience and lessons of tourism development for many years, Xingwen County has proposed a basic framework for building a major tourism county, that is, taking Shihai-Bowang as the leader, relying on Bo Miao culture, supporting characteristic towns, and building on high-quality services as supporting facilities, and in accordance with the overall requirements of this framework, through 3-5 years of hard work, we will basically build a major tourism county.

In terms of cultivating leading tourism enterprises, we will fully complete the development and construction projects of Xingwen Stone Sea and Bowang Mountain, and declare them as world natural heritage in a bundle. At the same time, we have completed the development and construction of Jiusi Wangcheng, Xianfeng Mountain, Tai'an Stone Forest and other scenic spots, strengthened the supervision of the implementation of scenic area planning, and always adhered to a high starting point, high standards, high quality and efficient development and construction, and truly integrated The county's tourism resources form the greatest synergy for tourism development and build a large tourism management system.

In terms of exploring the cultural heritage of the Bo Miao, make full use of relevant professional talents, trace the cultural history of the Bo Miao, develop cultural programs and cultural products with national characteristics, and form a stronger local ethnic customs and national characteristics. .

In the construction of characteristic towns, we adhere to the goal of building a landscape garden tourism county, actively implement the management and development and utilization projects of Songjiang River and Fanghua Stream, and do a good job in the design of greening of leisure areas along rivers and streams. and implementation to promote the process of purification, lighting, greening and beautification of the county. At the same time, based on the principle of building characteristic small towns, according to the needs of tourism development, combined with the history, culture and economic development status of small towns, highlighting the residential and tourism characteristics of southern Sichuan, we will do a good job in the planning and construction of small towns, and strive to achieve "one-stop" tourism ring towns. A scene in the town." It not only adds new highlights to tourism development, but also expands a broader space for farmers to increase their income.

In terms of improving supporting services, we will strengthen tourism vocational and technical education, comprehensively improve the comprehensive quality of tourism employees, and at the same time vigorously cultivate intermediary organizations to broaden the sales channels of tourism and tourism products; agriculture and industry will focus on the tourism industry To promote the development and growth of Xingwen, give full play to the advantages of Xingwen's rich agricultural and sideline products, highlight local characteristics and national characteristics, work hard on exquisite and novel tourism products and tourist souvenirs, and provide high-quality services for the cultivation and expansion of tourism product development and management enterprises; vigorously develop catering, Entertainment, leisure and other related industries, transform and upgrade hotels, rapidly promote the development of the tertiary industry, and initially form a tourism service system integrating food, accommodation, transportation, travel, shopping and entertainment and a pillar network for county economic development.

The proposal and establishment of the tourism county framework not only outlines a grand blueprint for tourism development, but also sets clearer goals for tourism development that year and in the future, effectively avoiding blindness and blindness in tourism development. The short-term and disorderly nature ensures the healthy and steady development of the tourism industry and the entire county economy.