Rural tourism infuses vitality to island

Rural tourism has emerged as a new growth driver for Pingtan, an island city located off the coast of Southeast China's Fujian province, Fujian Daily reported on March 20.

Pingtan, the fifth largest island in China, overlooks Taiwan in the Straits.

On basis of its unspoiled natural landscapes, the rural tourism highlighting the homestays renovated from local houses has turned into a pivotal force in realizing rural vitalization in the region.

In 2017, the Beigang village, once a rustic fishing village in the city, registered roughly 3 million yuan in tourism revenue.

In the village, sprawling old stone houses have been renovated and upgraded into chic homestays by a group of Taiwan youth years ago. Situated in the seaside, the cozy accommodation and captivating views instantly made it a hit destination for nearby visitors.

With its rising popularity, a dozen similar villages in Pingtan followed suit, including Qisha village, Guocai village and Tanshui village.

Xu Xionghua, former Party chief of the Tanshui village, has witnessed the great changes the village has gone through since April, 2017 when it was approved by local authorities to build itself into a tourism attraction.

According to Xu, the infrastructure in Tanshui has been significantly improved since then, in terms of water, electricity, roads and information connectivity.

Even after retiring from his post, the veteran has still been paying close attention to and involving himself in the village development, saying he is optimistic about the village’s developing prospects, given enormous market demand and efforts coming from the local government.

In October, 2016, Pingtan rolled out an lineup of preferential polies to support the development of homestays in rural areas as well as a guideline to regulate the market, which greatly fueled the industry growth.

A bird's eye view of the Tanshui village in Pingtan, Fujian province [Photo/ptnet.cn]