As the dragon raises its head at the Spring Equinox, all things begin to flourish. On March 20, the traditional Dragon Head-Raising Day on the second day of the second lunar month coincided with the Spring Equinox. In Chunduo Village of Gangyang Town, Hailing District, Taizhou City, Jiangsu Province, festive joy arrived even earlier than the spring breeze.
Villagers in Chunduo Village celebrate the Dragon Head-Raising Day festival
Heading east along the broad and well-paved Guohua Road, the newly built opera stage square resounded with the clang of gongs and drums. Elderly villagers leaning on canes and young parents holding children gathered tightly around the stage. Mr. Chen, who had returned home, held up his phone to take photos while remarking to his family, “I never imagined our village could have such a magnificent stage square. This year’s festival is even livelier than in the city!”
As the drums begin to beat, nostalgia finds its place. In the Lixiahe region of central Jiangsu, a dense network of waterways has long nurtured a strong tradition of watching village opera. Yet as time passed and younger generations left the village, the old stage in Chunduo gradually fell into ruin, and the sound of gongs and drums faded year by year, leaving only weeds to grow unchecked.
A turning point came when Guohua Energy Investment Jiangsu Branch under CHN Energy formed a partnership with Gangyang Town. When the project team first visited Chunduo Village and listened to the villagers, their most urgent wish surprised everyone: “Could you rebuild the opera stage for us?” Hearing this repeated request from both elders and middle-aged residents, Li Qiang, head of the Taizhou Hailing Photovoltaic Power Station, responded with firm determination: “The stage is the cultural root of our village and carries generations of memories. We must do this, and we must do it well.”
Work began immediately. The project team and local officials held multiple discussions on site selection, design and construction, striving to restore the traditional Jianghuai architectural style with upturned eaves, blue bricks and dark tiles. Before long, a spacious new stage was completed, with a paved square in front and new energy-powered lighting installed around it. On the day of its completion, former village Party secretary Zhou Shuyuan stood before the stage, gently touching the freshly painted red pillars, speechless for a long moment, nodding silently. Everyone understood that what had been built was not just a structure, but the renewed dignity and confidence of the village.
The opera stage built in Chunduo Village by Guohua Energy Investment Jiangsu Branch
“They’re here! The dragon dance teams have arrived!” On the festival day, the square buzzed with excitement. Accompanied by powerful drumbeats, four colorful dragons gathered in the square. Local enthusiasts formed dragon dance and waist drum teams, working in harmony to deliver a vibrant and joyful performance.
Local performers stage a dragon dance in the square of Chunduo Village
In one corner of the square, several elderly men sat chatting, their conversation turning naturally to the village’s income. “This year’s fish pond dividends are higher than last year. The village collective has money now, so there’s no need to ask households to contribute for hiring opera troupes.” “I heard the fishing experience park will expand after the New Year, and visitors from the city have already made reservations.”
Amid the sound of drums, these simple and grounded words carried more weight than any grand statement. Behind the lively performances lies solid industrial support. Beyond the stage, Guohua Energy Investment Jiangsu Branch has developed a fishery-solar hybrid project across more than 2,900 mu (around 1.9 million square meters) of fish ponds in Chunduo Village, generating electricity above the water while raising fish below. Meanwhile, the more than 13-kilometer-long Guohua Road has fully connected agricultural product distribution with villagers’ journeys home.
Villagers stroll along rural roads in Chunduo Village at dusk
These strengths in green power plus green food bring millions of yuan (1 yuan equals 0.14 USD) in direct annual income to the village. Once-idle land has been revitalized by new industries. With fuller pockets, villagers now have the confidence to pursue richer cultural lives, while the revival of local traditions attracts visitors from afar, forming an integrated cultural tourism cycle of fishing, dining, leisure and sightseeing.
In the closing lines of Shexi (Village Opera), Lu Xun once wrote wistfully that he never again tasted beans as good as those of that night, nor saw a performance as memorable. That sense of loss reflects a deep longing for an irretrievable past. Today, however, the people of Chunduo Village are sending a different message through their new stage and smooth village roads: home will always wait for those who return, and nostalgia no longer needs to linger in uncertainty.
The photovoltaic field of the Taizhou Hailing PV Power Station
As the echoes of drums fade over Chunduo Village, what remains is not the loneliness of a performance’s end, but a lasting hope for a better life. The builders of Guohua Energy Investment Jiangsu Branch have rooted their sense of responsibility in the rural landscape. Through green energy from fishery-solar integration, they empower local development, and with a single stage, they have revived the cultural soul of this water town. On this land of Jianghuai, they are weaving a vivid tapestry where industrial vitality and cultural prosperity shine together.
