For years, my family and I have enjoyed spending our weekends in the picturesque rural areas surrounding Beijing.
We typically choose villages within a two-hour drive that offer stunning views of mountains or water and provide comfortable homestay services. These trips help us unwind by breathing fresher air, eating home-grown vegetables and sharing life stories with our hosts under the bright moon and glittering stars.
Of course, this relaxation comes at a cost. Each trip sets us back by around 1,000 yuan ($147.5), covering expenses such as gasoline, toll fees, meals and accommodation. The budget can go higher if we decide to visit nearby scenic attractions such as an ancient town, a karst cave or a section of the Great Wall.
I can”t help but laugh at myself every time I pay for these rural escapes. Nearly 50 years ago, I was reluctant when compelled to go to the countryside, and now I willingly pay to spend a few days in villages. It’s remarkable how much has changed during this time.
After graduating from high school in the late 1970s, city and town graduates like me were sent to rural areas for “re-education”, a policy driven by the country’s high unemployment rate and food shortages.
I vividly remember the day an old truck transported two dozen of us to a village about 100 kilometers west of my home city Xi’an, capital of Shaanxi province. Survival was difficult but what worried us most was the prospect of spending the rest of our lives in that impoverished village. The stream that flowed near the village and the nearby mountain were beautiful, but we were in no mood to enjoy their scenic appeal.
By 1978, when the “re-education” program ended, an estimated 17 million Chinese youth had been sent to rural areas to work as farmers over a decade.
When they returned to cities, they found it difficult to get jobs. Despite these challenges, they persevered and took up any job available. Many of them are among today’s visitors to the countryside, drawn by nostalgia.
And they now discover that rural areas today are very different from the past. In 2021, the Chinese government announced that it had eliminated absolute rural poverty in the country. That meant all villagers had enough food to eat, warm clothes to wear and solid houses to live in.
The authorities did not stop there. In the past few years, rural revitalization efforts have been made to improve the living standards of villagers by encouraging them to take full advantage of their resources.
China’s continuous investment has helped to link even the remote villages in mountainous areas with the outside world via high-speed rail tracks, expressways and country roads. Villages in southwest China showcase their ethnic handicrafts, while those in the northwest lure visitors with their unique wedding rituals and seasonal celebrations.
In the north, Mongolians offer paid horse rides on grasslands and tea growers in the south offer discounts to visitors to their tea farms. Villagers in other areas have also discovered they can attract city dwellers with fresh air, scenic views, fruit-laden trees, home-raised chickens and eggs, organic vegetables, and more.
Countryside tourism is gaining momentum in China. The rural tourism market size reached an estimated 1.5 trillion yuan last year, accounting for nearly half of the national tourism market. More than 7 million farmers are employed in this sector, contributing to prosperity in the countryside.
The ease of accessibility and affordability of rural tourism means the sector will continue to grow.
However, its sustainable development will depend on better planning and management, which calls for government coordination.
Some local governments are already taking steps in this direction. In some villages around Beijing, free Wi-Fi is available everywhere. Villagers building new houses are required to follow specific architectural styles, homestay hosts must change bed covers after guests leave, and restaurant owners can operate only after they pass certain health and sanitary inspections.
Such measures will make China’s rural areas more beautiful and countryside tours safer and more enjoyable.
The author is former deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily.
