Food tasting tourism boosts Dahua's economy

Dahua Yao autonomous county in Hechi city has been developing food tasting tourism since 2016 to promote industrial transformation and upgrading, which has contributed to increased incomes in local households.

Dahua has various agricultural products like bullhead and Qibainong chickens that are characterized by the natural environment and historical and cultural factors of their originating areas. To date, the products have attracted 921,000 visitors from home and abroad, with a year-on-year growth of 25.6 percent.

With soil full of organic matters and trace elements, and ample sunshine and rainfall all the year round, Dahua was named the "Chinese Town of Longevity" and a "National Green Food Material Base".

Relying on its advantages, the county has set up a 9,355 mu (623.7 hectares) demonstration base of enriched agricultural products and two county-level core demonstration bases in the first half of this year. With the China (Dahua) Hongshui River Longevity Health E-commerce City going into operation on Jan 31, it has also sold characteristic agricultural products with a total value of 20 million yuan ($2.9 million) through online shopping, which is expected to benefit 2,000 households, more than 1,000 of them impoverished.

To concentrate and reorganize the advantageous resources the county will boost the development of the food tasting industry and integrate its three main industries, according to Yang Wenlong, Party secretary of Dahua county.