Rural residents in S China's Hainan gain wealth after village renovation

Bohou village in Sanya city, south China's Hainan Province is inhabited by the Li ethnic group. During the peak tourist season, parking in the village becomes extremely difficult to find. To accommodate the visitors, the villagers' committee always opens its doors to welcome tourists.

Located near the famous Yalong Bay National Tourism Resort, Bohou village has become increasingly popular in recent years. However, before 2016, very few tourists would venture into the village when visiting the Yalong Bay National Tourism Resort.

Bohou village takes on a new look after a renovation project. (Photo courtesy of the villagers' committee of Bohou village)

Shao Jing, a member of the rural revitalization work team in Bohou village, explained that in the past, local villagers relied on flower cultivation, extensive agriculture, and working as migrant workers to get rid of poverty.

However, despite these efforts, the village struggled to attract tourists due to its poor environment.

"If just one-tenth of the tourists visiting the Yalong Bay National Tourism Resort stay in our village, we can fully activate our resources," said Su Shaohong, head of Bohou village.

In 2017, Bohou village launched a special campaign to improve the living environment, implementing various measures including the installation of sewage pipelines, the construction of cement roads, and the removal of walls and pigsties owned by villagers.

Party members and officials took the lead in signing an agreement for the construction of a beautiful countryside, and they were the first to demolish their own walls and pigsties. They then went door-to-door to persuade the villagers.

A villager named Tan Zhongxian became the first person in the village to take a risk. He used all his savings accumulated from working in south China's Guangdong Province for 10 years to rent his uncles' old houses.

Tourists play in the swimming pool of a B&B hotel in Bohou village. (Xinhua/Liu Yongzhen)

In May 2017, Tan opened his B&B hotel.

"At first, my family didn't understand why I was risking all our savings. But in the first year of business, we had almost full occupancy every day, and during holidays, it was even harder to find a room. We recouped our initial investment in the second year," Tan said.

After that, B&B hotels sprouted up in Bohou village. There are currently 61 B&B hotels with a total of nearly 2,000 rooms in the village. In 2022, the village's B&B hotels recorded over 290,000 tourist arrivals, generating a revenue of over 55 million yuan ($7.53 million).

In 2020, Bohou village was rated a top-level rural tourism destination in Hainan Province.

Today, the average annual per capita disposable income in Bohou village has reached nearly 30,000 yuan, and all 667 households are employed in the village.