A rural community serves up authentic attractions as visitors flock to experience country life, Yang Feiyue reports.

As spring comes, villagers from Zhuangzimao, a rural idyll tucked away in the depth of the mountains of Northwest China's Gansu province, have been raring to get prepared for upcoming visitors.

The tofu workshops across the village have been steaming with heat, while the fried pancake stalls fill the air with a tantalizing aroma.

Meanwhile, some farmlands have been under renovation for urban students to engage in hands-on learning, while the greenhouse melons are being planted and the farmhouses are opening for business.

Yang Qingyan has been busy introducing her hometown specialties to tourists from far and wide via livestreaming.

"Our cooking sauce and vinegar workshop is offering new brewing… We've also prepared handcrafted millet vinegar and a variety of ready-to-eat snacks. If you're interested, feel free to contact me," she says as she enthusiastically promotes products from her eco-farm that she founded about five years ago at Zhuangzimao, in Huanxian county, Qingyang city.

In the past two years, riding the wave of integrated agricultural, cultural and tourism development and leveraging the popularity of livestreaming, the village has quickly gained fame and transformed into a thriving ecotourism destination.

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Visitors have been trekking to the once isolated site, lured by its cavestyle homestays, organic vegetable gardens and a children's amusement park.

It was a far cry from what Yang saw when she visited the village in 2019, after a prolonged absence.

The woman in her 40s had spent years running successful businesses in the city, from selling spicy snacks to managing a clothing store.

The stark contrast between her thriving urban life and her village's poverty struck her deeply.

"I couldn't bear to see my hometown left behind," she recalls.

Determined to make a difference, Yang closed her shops and returned to Zhuangzimao to start anew.

Yet, her journey wasn't easy. She invested her savings into building the eco-farm, but most villagers were skeptical.

"They thought I was daydreaming," she says.

Only four families initially supported her vision. Undeterred, Yang pressed on, determined to prove that rural vitalization was possible.

Constant changes

With the support of local government and Yang's own efforts, dirt roads were paved over, a rose and lily garden bloomed, and cooperatives for tourism and livestock farming were established in 2020.

"Every day brought new changes," Yang says with a smile.

"It was exhilarating."

Her first breakthrough came when Zhuangzimao's local products, including handmade cooking sauces and farm-fresh produce, gained popularity in nearby towns.

Seeing tangible results, more villagers joined her efforts. Yang then ingeniously tailored opportunities to each household's strength. One family raised sheep, another opened a farmhouse restaurant, and others started producing traditional goods. For those lacking startup funds, Yang provided financial support out of her own pocket.

Recognizing the power of the internet, she also embraced livestreaming e-commerce to sell local products like chili powder and handmade sauces, and taught her neighbors how to livestream, turning many households into mini-broadcasting stations.

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It further put the village on the tourist map.

Yang Zhinan, 42, has been busy but full of joy as his farmhouse offering catering and accommodation has thrived since it opened in April last year.

"Tourists have been flocking to Zhuangzimao. Our homestay earns an average of nearly 2,000 yuan ($276) per day, and on weekends and holidays, daily revenue can double and reach up to 4,000 yuan," he says.

With over 20 years of culinary expertise, his homestay has become an instant hit among a rising number of visitors, drawing crowds eager to experience his hospitality and dishes.

In 2024, Zhuangzimao welcomed over 80,000 visitors, and its combined revenue from tourism and agricultural sales reached new heights. The village has held three profit-sharing meetings last year, benefiting 220 households.

"Only by working together can we achieve prosperity," Yang Qingyan says.

Leading role of tourism

Zhuangzimao is a slice of the robust rural tourism development across Gansu in 2024, as shown by the province's rural tourism development index unveiled in Beijing in mid-March.

According to the data, Gansu's rural tourism sector welcomed 176 million visitors last year, a year-on-year increase of 15.07 percent. It generated 55.3 billion yuan in tourism revenue, up 14.78 percent from the previous year.

The data was jointly launched by the culture and tourism department in Gansu and China Economic Information Service, a subsidiary under the Xinhua News Agency.

He Xiaozu, director of Gansu's culture and tourism department, emphasizes that over the past five years, Gansu has prioritized rural tourism as a key driver for poverty alleviation and rural vitalization. The province aims to establish itself as a renowned rural tourism destination in western China.

"Rural tourism has become the backbone of Gansu's hospitality industry, accounting for half of its success," He says, highlighting the province's remarkable achievements in rural vitalization through tourism.

By the end of 2023, the province had established 21 rural tourism demonstration counties, 200 model villages for cultural and tourism-driven rural vitalization, and 530 rural tourism cooperatives.

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Additionally, 44 villages and six towns were recognized by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism as major national rural tourism destinations, He says.

About a three-hour drive away from Zhuangzimao, Heimu village of Heshui county, Qingyang, has leveraged its picturesque landscape featuring lush forests and distinctive farming to woo travelers seeking natural beauty, authentic rural experiences, and innovative agricultural-tourism integration.

Locals have developed a series of unique experiences, such as feeding deer, wild boars and ostriches, camping under the stars at a vast meadow campground and farm-to-table dining at an eco-farm.

"These small attractions have not only brought in tourists but also boosted the local economy," says Wang Baobao, a local villager.

During holidays, those spots have been bustling with family travelers, he says.

Meanwhile, local delicacies such as buckwheat noodles and stewed chicken are in high demand, delighting visitors and increasing villagers' incomes, Wang says.

At the Heimuya eco-farm, several new projects have been up and running, including a visitor service center, a traditional handicraft workshop area, a shared dining space, cave-style homestays, a parent-child experiences-themed farm, and a parking lot.

"These developments will enhance our tourism capacity and provide a better experience for visitors," Wang explains.

At the rural tourism development index launch event in Beijing, Sun Ruijuan, a senior index R&D official at China Economic Information Service, highlighted the resilience and growth of Gansu's rural tourism sector.

In 2024, both visitor numbers and tourism spending passed pre-pandemic levels, increasing by 38 percent and 63 percent, respectively, compared to 2019.

Pan Haiping, chairman of the China Economic Information Service, notes that Gansu stands as a vivid example of China's rural vitalization efforts and a pioneer in green development.

The impressive growth in rural tourism reflects the province's commitment to ecological protection along the Yellow River Basin and its practical actions toward comprehensive rural vitalization, Pan says.

Contact the writer at yangfeiyue@chinadaily.com.cn