A small riverside village in a tranquil corner of east China's Zhejiang Province has become a national model for eco-friendly development and stands as a shining example of China's rural revitalization in action after receiving a special visitor nearly 20 years ago.
Up until two decades ago, Jinxing Village in Zhejiang's Quzhou had only one single-paved road leading in and out. However, the village has since undergone a huge transformation that has now seen it winning wide acclaim and become a popular spot for tourists to come and unwind.
Today, it has become known for its lush landscapes and clear waters, and in 2020, it was awarded as one of "China's most beautiful leisure villages" by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
The catalyst for change came when now Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a visit to Jinxing Village in August 2006, when he was then Secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China.
According to villagers, Xi said that by valuing the local natural resources and protecting the environment, they could one day "profit from the air."
Locals fully embraced Xi's idea that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" and since the early 2010s, they started to develop the rural tourism business and open up homestays, attracting visitors from surrounding cities like Shanghai, who travel to this village during the weekends just to embrace the fresh air and picturesque scenery in the countryside.
Xi's landmark 2006 visit and his words of encouragement also helped nurture another positive outcome for one local family. Nineteen years ago, he stopped by the home of local villager Liu Yulan, who gifted him with some homegrown fig fruits.
Liu's son Zhou Hua recalled Xi's visit and explained the life-changing impact it would later have.
"My mother offered him fresh figs, and he said, 'These are wonderful -- you should grow more!' We had just two fig trees then, but his words inspired us. We later leased [land of around 1.3 hectares], started a fig orchard, and launched eco-tourism with fig picking, dried figs, and fig wine. Our annual income has since grown five to six times, now over 200,000 yuan (around 27,800 U.S. dollars)," he said.
From a single road to a destination where clean air, green hills, and sweet figs have become valuable assets, Jinxing Village shows how ecological preservation and rural revitalization can go hand in hand, turning natural beauty into lasting prosperity.
Rural Zhejiang village turns green dreams into golden realities after receiving special visitor
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that he estimates a deal with Iran will be signed "in the next day or two."
Trump said in an interview with Israel's Channel 12 News that the United States and Iran will probably meet over the weekend to finalize a deal to end the war. "The Iranians want to meet and make a deal," he said.
He said "the naval blockade on Iran is helping to make a deal. I will not lift it until we make a deal," adding that "the biggest part of this deal is that it will make Israel safer. This deal is good for Israel."
According to the channel, one component of the deal under discussion is that the United States will release 20 billion U.S. dollars in frozen Iranian funds.
In exchange, Iran would give up its stockpile of enriched uranium, and would be only allowed to have nuclear research reactors to produce medical isotopes, all above ground.
Trump also stressed that Israel must stop the strikes on Lebanon, saying, "They can't keep blowing up buildings. I'm not going to allow that."
Also on Friday, Trump said in a phone interview with Bloomberg that a deal to end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran is mostly complete as talks over a lasting peace deal will "probably" be held this weekend in Pakistan.
Trump said in the phone interview that Iran agreed to suspend its nuclear program indefinitely, and will not receive any frozen funds from the United States.
"Most of the main points are finalized. It'll go pretty quickly," Trump said.
Asked if he would travel to Pakistan to sign the potential deal, Trump said: "I may."
Trump again denied that the moratorium on Iran's nuclear program would expire after 20 years. "No years, unlimited," Trump said.
The United States will get all of Iran's nuclear "dust" with no money having exchanged hands "in any way, shape, or form," Trump wrote on social media earlier on Friday. Multiple Western media outlets have interpreted Trump's reference to nuclear "dust" as meaning Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium.
Iran has yet to comment on any deal beyond the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, nor on claims made by Trump that Tehran had offered concessions, including over the key issue of its nuclear program.
If the United States continues its naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran will consider it a violation of the ceasefire between the two countries and will close the waterway, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Friday, citing an informed source close to the Supreme National Security Council.
The Iranian side has yet to respond to the media report on the enriched uranium issue.
The United States and Iran had their first round of negotiations in Pakistan's Islamabad last weekend to ease tension in the Middle East. The talks, which failed to produce an agreement, took place after a ceasefire was announced on April 8 between Iran, the United States, and Israel, following 40 days of fighting.
Iran tightened control over the Strait of Hormuz after the United States and Israel launched joint attacks on the country on Feb. 28. The United States also imposed a naval blockade on the strait following the failed negotiations in Islamabad.
Earlier on Friday, both Washington and Tehran confirmed that the strait had been completely open for all commercial vessels. However, Trump said on Truth Social that the U.S. naval blockade would "remain in full force." In response, Iran warned of closing the waterway again if the U.S. blockade continues.
Trump says may sign deal with Iran "in the next day or two": Israeli media
Trump claims peace deal with Iran mostly complete: report
