Scenic village seizes livestreaming to revitalize local tourism industry

The tourism industry has been one of the hardest-hit sectors in China over the past three years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many destinations, especially those in the countryside, gradually disappearing from the list of places that tourists would want to visit.

But this is not the case for Hongni village in Hongtiguan township in southeastern Shanxi's Pingshun county.

Hongni is an emerging rural tourism destination in the southern part of the Taihang Mountains due to its centuries-old houses, soaring cliffs, a deep canyon and a spectacular waterfall.

Literally meaning "rainbow", Hongni is named after the waterfall, which usually forms rainbows when its water spray is bathed by sunshine.

The local tourism industry was affected by the pandemic at the beginning of the outbreak, said Wang Xudong, deputy Party secretary of Hongtiguan township.

He added that the industry began to recover rapidly as authorities proposed the use of the internet to promote their tourism attractions and sell local produce.

He said the new operational model was put forward by township Party secretary Cheng Fei, township government head Shen Kaibiao and himself, after studying successful practices of other rural tourism destinations in China.

Under the proposal, Wang Guobao, Party secretary of Hongni village, headed a team of young residents to visit various locales in the country to learn livestreaming and short video production skills.

Back in the village, the young residents used the modern means of marketing to revitalize the village, which has a history dating back more than 600 years.

People from other regions also joined in their ranks. Yang Qian, a girl in her 20s, came to the village in April and decided to stay to develop a career there.

Her short videos feature the landscape, life, history and culture of the village. Through them, she immediately became an internet influencer, garnering more than 100,000 followers.

"The pristine environment, the traditional lifestyle, the daily work on the farms and the preparation of rustic food all proved to be attractive to viewers," Yang said. "Many of them told me that they are making plans to visit the village."

Seeing more people arrive in Hongni to start their livestreaming business with local residents, Zhang Tao, a young entrepreneur from Changzhi, founded a livestreaming company in the village, gathering a group of livestreaming anchors to promote the attractions of the area.

As the village becomes better known to tourists through the internet, Hongni has seen the steady recovery of its tourism industry.

"The number of visitors is increasing and so is the revenue of villagers," village Party chief Wang Guobao said. "Even the small vendors can make big money. An owner of a food stand near the river told me he could earn about 800 yuan ($114.6) a day during the peak season."

Those involved in farming have also benefited from livestreaming promotions.

Fu Guomin is a pepper grower. Copying the experience of others, he made short videos about the entire farming process and put them on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.

"I gathered more than 7,000 followers over the past year," Fu said. "And all of my produce was ordered by dealers even before the harvest."

Wang Guobao said that thanks to the booming livestreaming industry, the village received more than 150,000 visits this year to date and most of the produce grown on farms totaling 40 hectares was sold through the online platforms.

Li Jiaming contributed to this story.