Karst peaks along the Yangtze River.[Photo provided to China Daily]

In 2015, the town's scenic areas and rural tourist destinations welcomed more than 4.73 million people, bringing in 4 billion yuan of consolidated revenue for a town that has a population of 35,000.

In recent years, the local tourism industry has also put a large number of local farmers on the road to a better life, she says.

In 2015, the Tribe of the Three Gorges, an area with the highest ranking under China's tourist-attraction rating system－5A－developed from a previously poverty-stricken village, drew 2.8 million visitors, contributing about 12 million yuan of taxes to the local government. Now the area has more than 10,000 people who work directly or indirectly in the tourism industry.

To encourage rural tourism, the local government also offers training to poor families who are willing to enter the tourism trade.

The families are then provided with a "green pass", which simplifies the approval process and provides them with easier access to loans.

In recent years, the government has also tried to further integrate its well-known tourist spots, such as the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River and Tribe of the Three Gorges, with its rural tourist destinations nearby by developing more tourist routes.

"We are trying to redirect tourists from the river to the mountains," says Wang.

Thanks to the Three Gorges Dam, Sandouping receives about 350,000 Chinese and overseas visitors annually.

Contact the writers through liuxiangrui@chinadaily.com.cn