UN lists Xiajiang in E China's Zhejiang among world’s best tourism villages

(Video by Han Jiawei)

Xiajiang village in Chun'an county, east China's Zhejiang Province, has recently been named one of the Best Tourism Villages of 2023 by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), a recognition that comes after more than a decade of development efforts.

Situated deep in the mountains with limited per capita cultivated land, Xiajiang village once faced significant development challenges.

Photo depicts the riverside dwellings of Xiajiang village in Chun'an county, east China's Zhejiang Province. (Photo/Cheng Haibo)

In 2011, the village launched a project to improve its rural environment, which included standardizing house exteriors with a coat of white paint. This gave the village's homes a uniform style, resulting in a scenic landscape reminiscent of an ink-wash painting with white walls and black tiles.

The village initiated numerous land-use rights transfers and established a modern agricultural industrial park. Villagers who opted to transfer their land rights received a minimum of 1,200 yuan ($164) per mu (0.067 hectares) annually, a sum considerably higher than what they would earn from grain cultivation. Additionally, they had the opportunity to work at various agricultural sites for extra income.

The village also invested in ecosystem restoration and coordinated efforts to address challenges related to rural water systems, barren slopes, and agricultural non-point source pollution.

An aerial photo shows Xiajiang village, Chun'an county, east China's Zhejiang Province. (Photo/Xia Lixin)

These enhancements to the ecological environment brought opportunities to develop tourism. Xiajiang introduced workshops to preserve and pass down traditional practices such as rice cake pounding, bamboo weaving, and root carving. The village also developed various business models based on its scenic landscapes, including adventure camps and painting studios.

In 2022, Xiajiang welcomed a remarkable 409,500 visitors, generating 65.65 million yuan in tourism revenue.