RURAL REVIVAL
Increased investment in rural tourism to alleviate poverty not only benefits locals but also offers a wealth of new opportunities for travelers, especially in western China. Yang Feiyue reports.
Pristine environments, simple living and distinctive folk customs are drawing an increasing number of travelers to rural areas across the country.
Countryside destinations in western China’s Tibet autonomous region, and Gansu and Yunnan provinces, have received large numbers of travelers since the recent Spring Festival holiday.
Over 100 villagers sang and danced for visitors in Laodabao village in Yunnan’s Lancang county in early February.
Laodabao is a predominantly ethnic Lahu settlement, where half of the locals are skilled in music. The village founded a performance company in 2013 to lure more travelers. It worked.
It also improved infrastructure, building performance facilities and paving roads to the settlement.
Residents have staged over 400 shows for more than 100,000 viewers, generating 5 million yuan ($791,700) in tourism revenue, official Peng Na’er says.
Last year’s revenues alone exceeded 1 million yuan.
Farmers earned a little over 1,000 yuan per capita in 2006.
Many households now earn an additional 5,000 yuan to 6,000 yuan from performing, Peng told Xinhua News Agency.
Villagers farm during the day and rehearse at night.
“We’re busy but happy,” resident Li Naluo says.
A considerable number of residents in Laodabao have also opened grocery stores selling local specialties or farmhouses offering dining services to cater to the needs of the increasing number of tourists.
The Tibet autonomous region has developed favorable policies on flights and accommodation for travelers from February to April.
Also, major attractions, such as the Potala Palace in Lhasa, are offering free entry.
The region received over 210,000 visits from Feb 15 to 18, an increase of 30 percent compared with the same period last year, Tibet’s tourism development committee reports. Tourism income approached 160 million yuan, a nearly 15 percent increase.
Even remote destinations like Dadong village, which is tucked in a valley in Tibet’s southwestern mountains, have been rapidly developing as destinations.
Visitors are drawn to the settlement’s ancient temple, pastoral views and traditional dwellings.
Dadong has opened hotels and a hot spring resort, and has developed a venue for staging real-life versions of the videogame Counter Strike since it was designated a national-level “beautiful leisure village” in 2016.
It received more than 100,000 visits in 2017, which has created hundreds of job opportunities, village official Duo Ji says.
Tibet’s Weiba village, which is 7 kilometers from downtown Lhasa, experienced a peak in tourist numbers during the past winter.
“The Tibetan New Year has a lot of customs that are different from other parts of the mainland, and many tourists are quite interested in them,” De Ji, a private inn operator, tells The Economic Information Daily.
The 25-year-old converted her yard into a hotel four years ago.
She offers lodging, food and introductions to Tibetan culture.
Her business received nearly 100 tourists on the first day of the recent Lunar New Year.
She received over 800 people in 2017, generating over 50,000 yuan in income.
Lhasa’s tourism bureau has also helped Weiba village to develop a museum displaying Buddha statues and adobe pagodas, and sightseeing parks in recent years.
Northwestern China’s Gansu province is also experiencing a surge in rural tourism.
The Yuquan Mountain Villa in Gansu’s Dingyuan town had 200 tables of diners during the recent Lunar New Year holiday. Visitors also participated in such activities as making noodles and watching donkeys grind flour.
Gansu recently enacted policies to develop rural leisure, catering, accommodation, sightseeing and farm visits.
And it has improved infrastructure, such as toilets.
The province is striving to attract 100 million visits to generate 30 billion yuan by 2020.
Gansu plans to develop 10 counties for agritourism and village experiences.
It also plans to open 20,000 rural guesthouses that will employ half a million people.
China’s increasing investment in rural tourism to alleviate poverty will not only benefit villagers but also will provide a new wealth of opportunities for travelers.