"It was money well spent," Wuxing resident Wang Feijun says.

"The results of remodeling exceeded our expectations."

She says she noticed the change in her business two years after she built a three-story guesthouse on her land in Wuxing in 2016.

Many travelers had decided against staying at her place when they found the bathroom was too small. They couldn't shower without standing right next to the toilet.

So, she invested about 300,000 yuan ($42,650) on remodeling after accepting assistance from Lin'an's culture and tourism authority.

Now, her guesthouse offers sightseeing balconies, and all five rooms have intelligent bathrooms. Paintings created by local farmers hang in the rooms.

She can charge twice as much per room.

"Many people also come to see my place and think about changing their own," Wang says.

Lin'an received 13.1 million tourist visits in 2018, up 42.6 percent over the previous year.

Chen expects the number to grow next year because of the upgrade.