Supported by the local government, they opened their current shop in the village. Last year, the shop brought in a net profit of about 50,000 yuan ($7,057).

"I earn a proper income in my home village, and the blessing is that I can look after my family," says Li.

The Miao silver jewelry-making technique was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2006. To inherit and develop this technique, an increasing number of young people like Li and Lu decided to return home and revitalize the craft.

"When I was running a silver shop in a popular ancient town in Hunan province, I always wondered when there would be so many tourists in our village, making it possible for me to make money at home," recalls Pan Shixue, who had been working elsewhere after graduating from high school in 2006, and went back home in 2018.

As tourism picked up in the area surrounding the village which features stilted houses, his dreams gradually morphed into reality.