Out of Poverty

Tourism Boosts Income

Liu Xiufeng has a stand selling meat in the new Shandi Renjia (family in the hills) scenic area. Formerly a resident of the remotest village of Maoping Township, he moved his home to the scenic area, and all his family members have found jobs there. His wife is a sanitation worker and his son works as a photographer, snapping shots of visitors to the area. At RMB 80,000, the family’s annual income is triple what it was five or more years ago.

The natural scenery and rural folkways in Maoping Township, formally a CPC stronghold, draw flocks of visitors to the area. Some come to explore the hills, some to experience rural life, others to draw the scenery.

The township organizes tourism projects catering to all tastes. For example, it invited Jiangxi Provincial Urban and Rural Planning Institute to plan and construct Shandi Renjia, with its 20 guest houses and distinctive local features, as a major tourism project.

The township government has also improved the tourist service center and facilities such as lodges, parking lots, and public rest rooms. The Shenshan scenic spot of the township received more than 15,000 person times of visitors in the first three quarters of 2016. The Bajiao (octagon) Tower alone received 35,690 visitors, a 143.3 percent year-on-year rise. This steady increase of tourists is expected to benefit even more locals.