Gao says over 60 of the village's roughly 220 families run homestays. Tourism development has brought drastic improvements to their lives.

Yandunjiao was listed as a designated village of rural tourism in China this year by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Gao attributes the village's progress to the local government's efforts to advance tourism-based holistic development across the city.

Rongcheng launched a campaign to improve sewage treatment and river-water quality years ago. Rongcheng's offshore waters are now rated Grade 2, the second highest in China's five-tier water-quality evaluation system, which means it's drinkable after treatment.

"You can see our village is so clean," Gao says.

"We don't have professional cleaners. We volunteer to keep our village clean because we know the benefits of a clean environment."