"We have developed nine scenic projects there including Taohuayuan ancient town and Qingu Valley, and upgraded hundreds of tourism facilities."

The thriving tourism has brought about new development opportunities for nearby villages.

Almost half of the households in the local area operate rural B&Bs, known as nongjiale, where tourists are able to stay and eat locally produced food. The daily income of these offshoot businesses ranges from a few thousand yuan to over 10,000 yuan.

Tong Hong and Guo Jingmin contributed to the story.