Solar Streetlights Installed in Niushi Village, Hedong Town, Wuhua County, Meizhou, Guangdong
Recently in Niushi Village, Hedong Town, Wuhua County, Meizhou City, Guangdong Province, brand-new solar streetlights stand neatly along village roads. They not only light up villagers’ nightly journeys but also shine as a beacon of hope for rural revitalization. Drawing on its long-standing traditional folk custom of “Shangdeng (Lantern Lighting Ceremony)”, the village has guided entrepreneurs and residents to transform extravagant interpersonal spending into public welfare efforts. Through the lantern-donation initiative, strong internal momentum has been injected into the Hundred-Thousand-Ten Thousand Project.
“Shangdeng” is a time-honored folk tradition passed down from generation to generation in Niushi Village, symbolizing blessings for new births, good fortune and harmonious neighborhoods. However, as living standards improved, some villagers fell into a vicious cycle of lavish banquets and conspicuous consumption, which increased household financial burdens and stripped the tradition of its original cultural essence. To revitalize this folk custom, the village Party committee and village committee integrated traditional culture with people’s livelihood needs. Centering on the Shangdeng activity, they launched the initiative of “Donate Lights, Add Brightness, and Build a Harmonious Niushi Village”, encouraging villagers to redirect funds from wasteful entertainment toward rural infrastructure development.
During this year’s Spring Festival, the village promoted the Hundred-Thousand-Ten Thousand Project and the lantern donation campaign through publicity notices, township elites’ seminars and household visits. Village cadres took the lead, entrepreneurs responded actively, and villagers participated enthusiastically, turning the enthusiasm for extravagant banquets into concrete support for hometown development. According to Zeng Hongdong, Secretary of the General Party Branch and Director of Niushi Village, the campaign mobilized around 200 households of entrepreneurs and local residents, raising nearly 200,000 yuan in donations. A total of about 300 solar streetlights are planned for installation; 250 have been completed, with the remaining 50 to be installed gradually.
These streetlights illuminate major village roads, public squares and remote lanes, completely solving the problem of dark travel at night. All original electric streetlights have been replaced with solar-powered ones, saving the village collective over 2,000 yuan in electricity costs every month.
“I took part in the lantern donation drive. All main village roads are now equipped with solar streetlights, cutting down the village’s electricity expenses. This new form of Shangdeng is excellent — it preserves traditional blessings and brings tangible benefits to everyone, so people were eager to donate. The village is much brighter now, and it’s far more convenient for us to take walks after dark,” said villager Zeng Yucheng with heartfelt praise.