Mountain village taps red legacy to build better life

SHIJIAZHUANG, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Nestled in the foothills east of the rugged Taihang Mountains, Lijiazhuang village was long a forgotten backwater place. Trapped by harsh terrain, it grappled with poverty and a dwindling population. Yet in just a few years, the village in north China's Hebei Province has embarked on a remarkable transformation.

Despite its modest size of just over 80 households, Lijiazhuang holds a distinguished place in China's revolutionary history -- it witnessed the founding of the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee in 1948. The former site of the department has since been cherished by local residents as a treasured piece of red heritage.

What followed was anything but smooth. Nestled deep in the mountains, Lijiazhuang had little arable land, and its thin, barren soil only exacerbated the hardship. "Back then, we tried to make a living from those poor fields, but we barely made ends meet," recalled Liu Lining, the village's Party chief.

In recent years, under the leadership of the local Party branch, Lijiazhuang has turned its red heritage into tourist attractions. Building on the former site, the village has established an exhibition hall and restored several former residences of prominent democratic personages, which are now open to the public.

Riding China's red tourism boom, Lijiazhuang has seen a surge in visitors. The exhibition hall alone receives more than 500,000 visits a year, bringing the cumulative total to over 6 million since it opened in 2016. Fueled by the tourism upswing, the village's average per capita income has risen fivefold over the past decade.

Despite the remarkable strides the village has made in leveraging its revolutionary heritage, it continues to explore new ways to improve local life. Currently, it is working to turn natural constraints into strengths by developing rural tourism and other industries tailored to local conditions.

"I never imagined these old village houses would become tourists' favorites," said villager Han Huiru, who now runs a homestay converted from her once-idle cottage with support from the local Party branch. "People from nearby cities like Beijing and Tianjin love coming here for our local specialties, such as stewed fish and fried mushrooms," Han said, noting that Lijiazhuang's pastoral charm offers city dwellers an escape from the concrete jungle.

Han's cottage, once in dull gray, is now brightened with delicate murals, a variety of plants, and recreational facilities. "The Party branch brought in landscaping experts to help us design our homestays and also provides regular maintenance," she said, adding that these efforts not only draw visitors but also improve the village's overall appearance.

Like Han, about 70 percent of Lijiazhuang's households now run homestays, with tourism accounting for a major share of residents' rising incomes. The village has also turned idle land into orchards where visitors can pick apples, cherries and other fruits well suited to the local climate and soil. After touring its red heritage sites, tourists can even spend a day in the fields, taking part in immersive farming activities offered by local farmers.

"Red heritage is the foundation of our development, and we are now pursuing an eco-friendly path," Liu said. Looking ahead, he noted that the village will step up high-standard planning and construction to fully unlock the value of Lijiazhuang's revolutionary legacy, natural charm and rural landscape.

Lijiazhuang's experience epitomizes a broader trend in China, where culture and tourism are emerging as key drivers of rural development. According to the "No. 1 central document" for 2026, the country will further integrate agriculture, culture and tourism, promote the upgrading of rural tourism, and foster small-scale, high-quality cultural and tourism-related business models.

Official data show that rural tourism revenue nationwide reached 457 billion yuan (about 67 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of this year, up 10.9 percent year on year. Over the same period, farmers' per capita disposable income rose 5.4 percent year on year, growing at a rate of 2.2 percentage points faster than that of rural residents.