As the Spring Festival homecoming trains arrive at county station platforms, people are discovering that the former "small-town commerce" has quietly transformed. Chain convenience stores, smart gyms, and branded restaurants—urban consumption formats are now rapidly expanding into towns and villages. This upgrade in consumption quality is reshaping small-town lifestyles and enhancing the festive atmosphere.
In Fudu Town's CBD, the New Year spirit is growing stronger. The parking lot is full, while a dazzling variety of New Year market stalls, steaming regional delicacies, and vibrant folk performances attract large numbers of residents from surrounding areas to shop and experience the festivities. According to China Unicom's Smart Footprint data, approximately 3,500 people enter and exit this shopping mall daily, with the farthest visitors coming from over 10 kilometers away. Previously scattered consumer demand is now concentrated at this new rural landmark.
Chen Tao, a villager from Fudu Town's Gonglu Village, visits daily. His factory is located just 300 meters away, and he appreciates the wide variety of food options available. The establishment of a CBD represents a significant change for the area. Across the street from the mall lies a continuous industrial park, where many new buildings are still under construction.
In recent years, Wuwei City has focused on developing county-level industries to boost local prosperity. Clusters in sectors like new energy materials and food processing have been rapidly forming in Fudu Town. Attracted by new opportunities in his hometown, Chen Tao, who had worked away for years, returned to join a new materials factory. He observes his hometown changing daily. From an aerial view, the area looks impressive with numerous factory buildings. Previously, the surroundings were relatively empty. When Chen first joined his factory, it had only about 60-70 employees; now it employs over 400 people. Buildings have sprung up one after another, and the population has grown significantly, with the most concentrated growth occurring over the past five years.
Since 2021, Fudu Town has added over 20,000 new jobs, attracting migrant workers while also drawing back more than 7,000 villagers like Chen Tao who had previously sought work elsewhere. The per capita disposable income in Fudu Town has increased by nearly 50% over five years. This rise in purchasing power is attracting various commercial entities to expand into the township market.
Zhao Le, responsible for management at Baodi Xintiandi commercial complex, mentioned that a gym will soon open on the second floor. Extensive research indicated significant demand for fitness facilities among the large number of R&D personnel and core managers in the area. Township consumption is becoming livelier and more diverse, extending beyond dining and shopping to include increasing options for entertainment and leisure.
Data from Qichacha shows that in sectors closely related to offline consumption—such as accommodation and catering, film exhibition, cultural/sports entertainment, and fitness/leisure—the number of market entities in Chinese counties increased from approximately 3.87 million to about 5.53 million over the past five years, a growth of over 40%.
Infrastructure upgrades are enhancing the quality of life in small towns. From coffee shops opening at 8 a.m. to hot pot restaurants closing at 3 a.m., towns like Fudu are becoming increasingly vibrant, offering a higher standard of living. This vitality extends beyond consumption scenes to daily necessities, with the biggest perceived improvement being convenience.
In recent years, Fudu Town has constructed 11 new resettlement communities, relocating over 900 households from old homes to new neighborhoods. The infrastructure hardware in these communities is comparable to urban areas, complete with elevators, parking lots, activity squares, and greenery. Convenience is the most significant benefit noted by villagers, even changing many consumption habits. Compared to the Spring Festival 12 years ago, fewer families stockpile large amounts of New Year goods after moving into these communities.
Wang Menghui, a Fudu Town villager, recalls that inconvenience previously led to bulk buying, filling refrigerators for the New Year. Now, with a supermarket nearby, groceries can be purchased as needed, even when guests arrive unexpectedly.
Focusing on creating a happy life close to home, Fudu Town underwent urban renewal during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. Multiple parks and road networks have been completed, along with primary schools and kindergartens, meeting the educational needs of children from many migrant worker families in Fudu and surrounding areas. Bus routes now extend throughout the area, connecting the township CBD through the industrial park to the most remote administrative villages.
Wu Lei, Mayor of Fudu Town, explained that the bus service links rural areas with the town center, making travel easier for residents. Many elderly people use free morning buses to go shopping or exercise in parks, while others take evening buses to square dancing before returning home. Young people also use the buses to travel to the town center for shopping and entertainment.
The roads connecting Fudu Town to its villages have been upgraded from 4.5-meter-wide cement roads to 6.5-meter-wide asphalt roads. In the second half of this year, two additional village bus routes will open, achieving full bus coverage across all ten administrative villages in the town.
As urban-rural integration deepens, modern lifestyles are increasingly converging with rural settings nationwide this Spring Festival. Before the holiday, new energy driverless delivery vehicles officially began operations in Rushan, Shandong. At the city-level distribution center in Rushan, new energy driverless vehicles were loaded neatly with New Year goods and daily necessities. After final checks, they departed for townships 30 kilometers from the urban center.
Gong Wei, General Manager of the Rushan Urban-Rural Distribution Center, stated that these driverless vehicles primarily serve remote townships. Compared to traditional manual delivery, they not only reduce labor costs but also overcome time and manpower constraints, allowing township residents to receive goods more quickly.
In Qingshen County, Sichuan Province, a new model of prefabricated farmhouses is being promoted, offering farmers more choices for comfortable living and smart homes. Early one morning, villager Chen Min and her family in Langou Village were busy putting up Spring Festival couplets and lanterns on their newly built farmhouse. Using prefabricated construction, the house was completed—from foundation to main structure—in less than a month.
Chen Min expressed her happiness at moving into the new home with her family for the New Year. They purchased smart home appliances controllable by voice command, greatly enhancing convenience and living standards.
Prefabricated construction involves manufacturing building components like beams, columns, wall panels, and floor slabs in factories, which are then transported and assembled on-site with precision, similar to building blocks. This method offers faster construction, better earthquake resistance, lower energy consumption, and reduced construction waste. Qingshen County has fully integrated prefabricated technology into rural housing construction, having built over 230 prefabricated farmhouses and distributed more than 18 million yuan in subsidies to farmers and craftsmen, effectively stimulating market vitality.