YINCHUAN – Yao Changde took photos, tasted delicacies, and strolled among the blossoming pear trees in Nanchangtan Village in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. He felt immersed in the landscape.

“It is wonderful for me to travel to such a beautiful village and I really enjoy the peace and quiet here,” said Yao, 80, who visited the village with his wife and two daughters for the Pear Blossom Festival.

In the Shapotou District of Zhongwei, Nanchangtan is a national historical and cultural village with more than 1,200 years of history.

Surrounded by high mountains and the Yellow River – China’s second longest river – it is said to have protected kings from the western Xia dynasty (1038-1227) during a war.

The natural terrain may have protected the villagers from intruders, but it also cut them off from the outside world. They had no electricity until 2000 and waited another decade for access to the internet.

Village Party chief Ta Shouqing said sheepskin rafts were once the only means of transport for villagers venturing further afield.

“It was a poverty stricken place where all the young villagers wanted to flee,” Ta said, adding that about two-thirds of the villagers traveled to cities in search of better education and more job opportunities.

However, thanks to China’s campaign against poverty, the village has seen improvements to its infrastructure, and the gradual flourishing of the tourism business has helped.

Nanchangtan has 166 centuries-old pear trees, the oldest of which is around 500 years old. When the bloom arrives, the village is wrapped in white.

Many villagers have returned to run host families. Li Gang raised sheep for a living and later worked outside the village.

He now has a host family that can accommodate 30 tourists at full capacity. All of his rooms were booked for this year’s Pear Blossom Festival and earned more than 20,000 yuan (US $ 3,050).

“Before October, tourists visit our village every weekend and they love the mountains, the Yellow River and the fresh air,” said Li.

Ta said 53 families in the village are host families and the village’s income from tourism during the Pear Blossom Festival is about 600,000 yuan. Last year, the per capita disposable income of the villagers was over 13,000 yuan, compared to just 3,400 yuan in 2013.

Villager Meng Jiangyu is the same age as Yao. He owns four pear trees under which he spent his childhood. During the tourism festival, Meng sets up a booth selling dried pears, dates and Chinese walnuts.

“They sell well and it is very convenient to conduct transactions by scanning QR codes,” he said. “Life just keeps getting better and I feel happy.”

Xinhua

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