Rural tourism sheds light on ethnic diversity

According to Yu, all the visitors know that the country has put a tremendous amount of effort into improving the lives of people in remote areas, and so seeing just how the villagers' lives have been transformed makes these efforts no longer abstract to them.

Zhang Xiaoqing, a member of a tour group that visited Wengji village recently, flying in to Jingmai Airport and then renting a car, said: "We didn't expect the condition of the mountainous roads to be this good. The villagers here enjoy all the modern necessities, such as wireless internet and express delivery while waking up every day to such beautiful natural scenery. They're living the dream."

Some of China's lesser-known areas, populated by non-Han ethnic groups, are being discovered for the first time by many tourists as the nation's networks of civil aviation, high-speed rail and highways grow ever-larger, making places once isolated easier to reach.

In Yunnan, which is the home of people from 25 ethnic minority groups, all 16 cities and prefectures now have highways. High-speed train services are available in 13 cities and prefectures. As a result, more and more people have chosen to explore these areas.