Rural tourism helps Chines village to overcome poverty

Gansu Province of north-central China helped 31,000 households with about 130,000 people rise out of poverty by developing rural tourism in 2018, the provincial tourism authorities said.

“Rural tourism areas received up to 85.2 million visitors last year, and the income of rural tourism hit USD2.43 billion, depicting an increase of 21.1 per cent and 29.4 per cent respectively,” said Chen Weizhong, head of the provincial department of culture and tourism.

Gansu has been making efforts to promote rural tourism in recent years by introducing preferential policies and improving infrastructure and public services to make rural tourism more convenient, according to the department.

The province has opened 50 rural tourism routes and is developing more rural tourism products and enhancing the level of service and management.

Jiayuguan Castle in Gansu

Gansu is a province in north-central China. Its city of Jiayuguan is known for the striking Overhanging Great Wall and imposing Jiayuguan Pass fortress complex, both part of the Great Wall of China. The nearby city of Jiuquan is a gateway to the July 1st glacier, which crowns the Qilian Mountains to the south, and to the Gobi Desert. Jiuquan’s Silk Road Museum houses artifacts from this ancient trade route.