A total of 50,008 new jobs were added in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region during the first 10 months of this year because of the development of local tourism, 125 percent of the targets for the year.

Xinjiang received more than 200 million tourists during the period, with the tourist income exceeding 300 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of over 40 percent.

Villagers at Pingxiliang, located in the Urumqi County of Xinjiang, were relocated to a new community near the then newly-built skiing resort 15 years ago. They have either secured a job at the ski resort or developed farmhouse tour services.

Recently, the local government has worked together with the villagers and enterprises to rebuild the unused houses into a high-standard guesthouse complex.

According to the overall planning of the new community, the roads were hard-packed and water as well as electricity facilities were made available, said Li Guiqin, secretary of the Party branch in the Pingxiliang Village, adding that many companies saw the opportunity to develop hostel industry based on the tourism resources.

Until now, 47 households in Pingxiliang have signed lease contracts with companies to redecorate their houses.

The guesthouses have not only provided jobs for the villagers, but also helped utilize their unused resources. For example, the residents could rent their cars to the guesthouses to help the tourists travel between the airport and the ski resort.

At present, 70 percent of the Pingxiliang villagers with a job are engaged in the tourism industry. Tourism income accounted for 70 percent of the annual per capita income of over 27,000 yuan in 2018.