Ming River, a symbol of Bama, flows through the fields. The shape of this river looks like the cursive script of the Chinese Character “命”.

A view of Bama County

110-year-old Huang Magan　

Bama Yao Autonomous County is located in northwestern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It became a famed "Longevity Village" worldwide in the 1990s. It is home to less than 300 thousand residents, among whom 94 are centenarians by the end of 2014.

  With the rise in awareness of health maintenance in current days, an increasing number of people came to know residents in Bama have unusual longevity. It is no wonder that the number of tourists grew 26 fold from 2006 to 2014 and for now, there are more than 100 thousand "migratory tourists "migrating between their hometowns and Bama.

 Just as every coin has two sides, its fame also poses challenges to the daily life of Bama locals.

 These transient tourists have brought cultures and lifestyles different from that of the Bama locals', resulting in frictionbetween locals and tourists, according to Li Tianxi, deputy head of the Bama Public Security Bureau.

"Migratory tourists" are also doing their utmost to integrate into the local community. For instance, Bama International "Migratory Tourist" Association was founded at the end of 2013.The association remains committed to helping migratory tourists, guiding tourists' behavior and protecting Bama's environment and longevity resources.

Bama has seen a rapid growth in the tourist industry, forming a glaring contrast with the serious shortfalls in environmental awareness and investment in environmental protection, says Li Zhengkuan, deputy director of Bama Environmental Protection Bureau. In 2014, the tourism revenue in Bama totaled RMB 3, 339 billion, seeing a year-on-year growth of 34.1%.

 In the years to come, Bama will invest more than RMB 40 million to implement 130 and more plans including urban and rural planning, tourism planning and tourism and environmental protection planning.

 Bama International Longevity and Health Maintenance Tourism Zone was listed as one of the three major international tourism destinations in Guangxi at the Guangxi Tourism Development Convention held in July, 2013.

The Development and Reform Commission and Tourism Bureau of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region co-edited the Outline of the Plan for the Bama International Longevity and Health Maintenance Tourism Zone. By 2020, as forecasted by the plan, the tourism zone will receive more than 20 million tourists, including 200 thousand inbound tourists and the tourism revenue is expected to achieve RMB 28 billion. Moreover, tourists will learn how to promote health, go sightseeing, get relaxed and enjoy folk customs in this tourism zone by 2020.