"In Nanjing, I found that many tourists preferred to stay in the distinctive guesthouses," Li said. "So I thought since we have great tourism resources in Sigong, why not introduce this to our residents and make Sigong a destination for tourists visiting Ili."

Returning to Sigong, Li began pitching his renovation project idea to residents. They weren't easy to persuade.

"At the beginning, most of them were reluctant to join the project, but I knew if one family agreed to convert their house into the homestay guesthouse and was able to make money from it, then everybody would follow," Li said.

Led by Li, the local government have improved infrastructures in 2019 and decided to invite the professional designer to Sigong in order to build a modern and characteristic homestay guesthouse.