Ecological tourism becomes pillar industry of village in Nyingchi, SW China's Tibet

Cars of tourists park on the roadsides of the main street in Gaiba Village of Gongbo'Gyamda County in Nyingchi City, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, July 20, 2023. (Xinhua/Sun Fei) 

Gaiba Village is located near the Basomtso, a national 5A tourist attraction. In the 1980s and 1990s, local villagers here mainly relied on logging to earn money. Thanks to local government's efforts to protect the ecological environment, forest fire prevention stations have been built on the former site of the logging yard, and trees have been replanted on the felled land along the highway.

At present, tourism has become the pillar industry of Gaiba Village. There are 48 homestays and family hotels in the village, and the tourism income of the village in the first half of 2023 is about 2.5 million yuan (about 0.34 million U.S. dollars).

A tourist poses for a photo in Gaiba Village of Gongbo'Gyamda County in Nyingchi City, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, July 20, 2023. (Xinhua/Sun Fei)

Cering Degyi (2nd R) talks to a tourist at a homestay in Gaiba Village of Gongbo'Gyamda County in Nyingchi City, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, July 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Sun Fei)

Cering Degyi (R) cleans a room with her sister at a homestay in Gaiba Village of Gongbo'Gyamda County in Nyingchi City, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, July 20, 2023. (Xinhua/Sun Fei)

This aerial photo taken on July 20, 2023 shows a view of the Gaiba Village of Gongbo'Gyamda County in Nyingchi City, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Sun Fei)

This aerial photo taken on July 20, 2023 shows a view of the Gaiba Village of Gongbo'Gyamda County in Nyingchi City, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Sun Fei)

A villager patrols in the forest in Gaiba Village of Gongbo'Gyamda County in Nyingchi City, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, July 20, 2023. (Xinhua/Sun Fei)