The village called Xingfu, which in Chinese means "happiness", was once unworthy of its name: enclosed by mountains, with run-down infrastructure and no profitable pillar industry.

After 15 years of development, with financial and policy support from the outside and continued efforts made by the villagers, the once impoverished area in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province has grown out of its shabby state and is back on the way towards happiness.

He Yanmei, a local villager, started her orchard business in 2011. Before that, she and her family had been working as migrant workers for many years.

Her idea to come back and run an orchard was inspired by the village's rich natural resources, and more importantly, its emphasis on improving local infrastructure, which has won it an annual grant of 200,000 yuan ($28,440) since 2005.

Xu Yiming, Party secretary of Xingfu village [Photo/hangzhou.com.cn]

"Every penny counts and we should have strict and careful plans for the village's future," said Xu Yiming, Party secretary of Xingfu village.

Giving up the wood-processing industry which is low in technical content and not friendly to the environment, the secretary has led local villagers on a road of protecting ecology and earning income from rural tourism.

Mountains and pools were taken back from contractors, fruit and vegetables were planted, and professional teams were invited to help local villagers work in a more scientific manner.

He Yanmei's orchard has been expanded to over 4 hectares, and seasonal fruit such as pears, grapes, peaches and waxberries all sell well.

"We don't need to worry about sales as the picking industry is booming, and many buyers would like to come to our orchard and try their hand at picking," He said.

"The collective income of our village was 1.38 million yuan last year, of which 737,500 yuan was operational revenue," the village secretary said.

Xingfu village has been prospering in its fruit picking, flower planting, farming and sericulture, fishing, and bed and breakfast industries in recent years. It is also striving hard to ensure its industries continue to grow.

A farmer from Xingfu village is packing freshly-picked peaches. [Photo/hangzhou.com.cn]