Rural tourism helps village in Northwest China shake off poverty
By Wang Mei, People’s
Daily
In June, Shibei
village in Northwest China’s Qinghai Province gets busy as tourists flock to
scenic sites there every day and cars wait to enter a scenic spot to see the sea
of flowers.
Rural tourism has become a poverty alleviation tool for villagers of
Shibei, Gucheng Hui Autonomous Township, Ping’an district, Haidong city, Qinghai.
Getting its name from
a stone tablet, Shibei is a beautiful ancient village of
ethnic minorities. Though it is endowed with clear waters and green mountains, the village was impoverished in
the past.
To help the villagers
out of poverty, the local government invested 5.6 million yuan ($791,500) to develop
rural tourism based on the resources it has, such as natural ecology and folk
culture.
The village provides tourism services such as sightseeing, catering and accommodation.
In addition, the local government has endeavored to make the village more
beautiful, improved supporting services, launched entertainment projects with
countryside characteristics such as farming and hiking, and developed
characteristic rural tourism. The measures have expanded the income channels of
the residents.
Thanks to the rural
tourism project, Shibei village has been lifted out of poverty, with the per
capita disposable income of registered poor households increasing to 5,500 yuan
in 2017 from 2,429 yuan in 2015.
The villagers have
established seven agritainment resorts, generating about 30 jobs, said Ma
Chengquan, secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) branch at Shibei
village.
The village is
expected to receive 120,000 tourists this year, bringing an average income of
2,300 yuan to each villager, Ma noted.
The local government
also encourages the villagers to open shops and snack bars and develop farm
stay business.
A villager named Ma
Xiaoyu said she could earn 300 yuan every day by selling yogurt and snacks in
the scenic areas. While doing the business, she could also take care of her
child.
The rapid development
of the village attracted some villagers who had worked in the cities to come
back to start up businesses, which created more opportunities for the local
economy.
“I used to run a
noodle restaurant in a developed coastal area of the country, and earned a lot
of money. Last year, I came back to the village and opened an agritainment
resort covering 500 square meters. Now, I earn as much as I did in the past,” said
Ma Shouqing, a villager in Shibei.
Shibei village
invested 500,000 yuan of collective development funds in the scenic areas to
purchase recreational facilities, bringing 40,000 yuan of income to the village
every year.
Together with the
dividends of the project, the village could gain 181,600 yuan every year for
developing collective economy, providing seasonal jobs for more than 80 rural
households and increasing the per capita income of villagers involved by over
2,000 yuan.
The development of
collective economy has made villagers more optimistic about future life and
made them realize that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.
The residents would volunteer to clean the scenic areas on a regular basis.
With the continuous efforts
to build a beautiful village and improve the living environment, Shibei village
has taken on a new look and become one of the important rural tourist
attractions in Ping’an district, according to Che Guiping, secretary of the CPC
committee of Gucheng township.
The village has risen
to fame and attracted more and more tourists and the per capita income of
villagers stood at 13,256 yuan in 2019, Che added.
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Photo shows a flower-themed scenic area in Shibei village. (Photo courtesy of the Bureau of Culture, Tourism and Sports of Ping’an district, Haidong city, Qinghai Province |

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