Ancient village in SE China’s Fujian becomes popular tourist destination

The ancient village of Chenqiao in southeast China’s Fujian province has become a popular tourist destination thanks to the development of rural tourism over the last few years.

However, just 10 years ago, the village located at the top of a mountain in Limen township, Zhouning county, was mired in poverty, as it is surrounded by mountains and had a poor transportation infrastructure, limited farmland and suffered water shortages. In the 1990s, residents began to find jobs outside the village to make a living. By 2005, the village was home to over 30 empty-nest senior citizens.

In 2009, several villagers who ran businesses in Shanghai returned to their hometown. Shocked and distressed by the dilapidated condition of the houses and lanes taken over by layers of weeds, they decided to contact other villagers scattered around the country to revive their hometown.

They raised funds to set up Chenqiao Tourism Development Co., Ltd., restore the houses to their former glory, widened the roads and built a 10-km walkway on the edge of a cliff and several sightseeing platforms. With tourists now flocking to the village, the push to develop rural tourism has proven to be a success.

Chenqiao has also been approved as a national 3A scenic area, and was listed as a model village for rural tourism and a national traditional village in China.

In September 2019, Zhouning built a high-standard road connecting the county directly to the village, boosting the development of tourism for several ancient villages located along the road.

Over 200 villagers have returned to their homes to start businesses, and more villagers can now make a living in their hometown thanks to the development of rural tourism over the past 10 years.

Chenqiao received over 100,000 tourists last year, with farmers’ per capita annual income reaching 14,800 yuan ($2,131). The 12 registered impoverished households in the village were all lifted out of poverty at the end of 2017.