The Information Office of Shandong Provincial People's Government held a news conference on June 17 about the province's measures and achievements in promoting rural revitalization.

The province's agricultural development, rural construction and livelihood of rural residents were highlighted at the briefing.

According to Liang Wenyue, deputy director of the Shandong Development and Reform Commission, the province's total grain output reached 53.57 billion kilograms in 2019, contributing to about 8 percent of China's total grain output.

Liang said that the province's output of meat, eggs, milk, aquatic products, vegetables and fruits were all ranked first in the country, while the added value of agriculture and exports of agricultural products has been the highest in the nation for many years.

"Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the export of agricultural products in Shandong has been growing against the trend," said Liang.

"In the first five months of this year, Shandong's export of agricultural products reached 49.63 billion yuan ($7.01 billion), an increase of 8.4 percent."

Shandong, as the birthplace of agricultural industrialization, has seen rapid development of its rural tourism, rural e-commerce, smart agriculture and other new business models. 

Official statistics show that the province's rural tourism received 540 million visitors and generated 270.99 billion yuan in revenue last year. A number of rural tourism clusters, boutique tourism towns and rural tourism demonstration parks have been cultivated.

Online retail sales of agricultural products in Shandong reached 29.46 billion yuan last year, an increase of 38.6 percent. Heze city and Caoxian county have also become well-known rural e-commerce agglomerates in China.

New types of agricultural businesses are booming. By the end of 2019, there were 9,600 leading agricultural enterprises in Shandong, including 106 at the national level and 901 at the provincial level. More than 18 million farmers have been involved in industrialized operations. The number of registered farmers' cooperatives and family farms reached 210,000 and 73,000, respectively.

The province has also promoted the establishment of modern agricultural industrial parks and demonstration parks for the integrated development of rural industries. A total of 128 demonstration parks above the provincial level and 21 at the national level have been established.

Li Xixin, director of the Shandong Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said that in 2019, the per capita disposable income of rural residents reached 17,775 yuan, an increase of 9.1 percent.