By scanning a QR code with mobile phone, Shen Jihong, a resident in Xiaoli village, Liangma
township, Anze county, Linfen city, north China’s Shanxi province, can check basic information,
engagement in industries, income details, contact officials in charge of poverty elimination and
other kinds of important information and government policies.
To ensure every household has access to all kinds of information and various policies, the
government of Anze county has boosted connectivity of information among government
departments and promoted the application of a mini program named Yi Ma Qing, which means
“the QR code that provides all-rounded knowledge” in Chinese.
In recent years, many cities in Shanxi province have used such QR codes to collect information
about people’s production and life and help grassroots officials better explain policies and promote
the implementation of these policies. Today, such QR codes are playing a greater role in advancing
rural vitalization in Shanxi province.
The essence of the QR codes is that they offer people an innovative and direct way to gain a
thorough and clear understanding of information and policies.
Yanggao county, Datong city, Shanxi, attached a QR code to every piece of clean heating
equipment during the replacement of coal with electricity, which specifies details about relevant
policies and subsidies.
Such QR codes serve as a new and effective channel for governments to introduce policies to
households and help avoid inadequate explanation of policies.
At present, China is promoting all-round rural vitalization and has set higher requirements for
precise public services, which makes it particularly important to have a comprehensive and
accurate understanding of the actual conditions of rural areas and update data on rural
development in a timely manner.
The QR codes widely used in Shanxi also focus on scientific management and targeted measures.
The QR code of Shen’s family shows information about training in tea-frying skills and rural
tourism projects participated by members of the family. Such basic information serves as an
important foundation for the local government to formulate targeted measures for further
improving the quality of local people’s lives.
Based on the actual situation of each household, relevant government departments can provide
targeted assistance for people. They strengthen guidance for households with skills to help them
run business according to industry regulations and rules; organize training in special skills for
farmer households with an urgent need for employment according to their age, gender, and strong
point; and guarantee timely and adequate food subsidy, medical insurance, and other forms of
assistance in meeting the basic needs of relatively vulnerable households, while maintaining
dynamic monitoring of the situation of these households for early warning.
While providing information about rural households, these QR codes test the precision of policies
and measures as well as the quality of public services, and witness improvement in governance
capability and performance.
To push forward rural vitalization, officials need to keep close track of and get dynamic feedback
on the development of industries and people’s income and living environment.
“Officials can gain a better understanding of rural development by leveraging data to quantify
outcomes of work. More ways will be adopted to make good use of data, including generating a
QR code for each village,” said a grassroots official.
It’s believed that by helping officials get a better understanding of the people and the people gain
full knowledge of policies, the use of QR codes will facilitate more benign interactions between
officials and rural residents.
By continuing exploring ways to leverage digital means to help with local governance and
improve the quality of public services and the effectiveness of public policies, Chinese cities will
embrace a brighter future of rural vitalization and generate more opportunities for increasing
people’s incomes.
