“It is packed on weekends, and I am particularly busy during Spring Festival, May Day and National Day holidays. I have invested 500,000 yuan, and I expect to earn my money back in more than one year,” said Li Junhua, the go-kart project investor. He returned to his hometown a year ago to start a business, seeing the potential of tourism development in his hometown as well as the need to care for the elderly. Benefiting from the overall promotion of the Yanziyan Scenic Spot, he is full of confidence in its development. Following the go-kart project, he is preparing a roller coaster project, which is expected to be put into operation by the end of the year.

 

 

It is the only the first step to make the scenic spot more active. Yanziyan has also made great efforts to promote the development of the surrounding industries through cultural tourism. According to local officials, in recent years, Yanziyan has actively guided residents to develop tourism services such as rural homestay, special farming, and leisure agriculture, and set up Minhai Cooperative in accordance with the mode of “village committee + company + villager”. Dividends are paid according to contributed capital and land shares. There have been more than 13.3 hectares of peach garden around the Yanziyan Scenic Spot. The sales of agricultural products reached more than 200,000 yuan this year.

 

With the development of rural tourism in Yanziyan, great changes have taken place in the appearance of the village, the infrastructure and the mental outlook of the villagers. In the village, roads have been built, houses have been beautified, the surrounding areas have been greened, a footpath has been completed, and the whole village has taken on a new look. In 2021, the Yanziyan’s tourism industry enabled the villagers to increase their annual per capita income by more than 5,000 yuan, and a large number of villagers returned to their hometown, which greatly solved the problem of talent shortage in the development of the project.

 

It is worth mentioning that the beautiful Yanziyan has also seen many single young people get married. In recent years, in this village consisting of 48 households with a population of more than 200 people, 11 young adults over 30 got married, which led to an increase of the population by more than 30 people. It is amazing to see such a high growth rate in a remote mountain village.

 

“I met my husband on a blind date. As his hometown is developing tourism, there must be a lot of opportunities. And when the peach blossoms are in full bloom, it is quite beautiful. Considering he is diligent and honest, I agreed to marry him,” Tan Liying, who got married in Yanziyan in 2020, said with a smile.

 

“Rural revitalization will ultimately depend on industries. Villagers will live in this place for the rest of their lives. They will take into consideration both the person and the place when looking for a spouse. As long as the income increases, the village becomes more beautiful, villagers change their thoughts, and good platforms are provided for development, everyone are willing to stay here,”  Zhong Shan said. The number of tourists received this year has reached about 200,000. At present, the second phase of the project is already under construction, followed by the third and fourth phases. Seeing the innovative projects one after another, he is full of expectations for the development of this small village.