"When it comes to weekends and holidays, many tourists, including the old and young, come here to camp, drink tea and barbecue. This has brought a great profit for the village," said Xiao Qiang.

Xiao, who is from Beijing, worked for a local hotel when he came to Dongjiang Village in east China's Jiangxi Province in 2013.

To learn about the village's culture and customs, Xiao talked to the local residents.

He found out the village has a wonderful ecological environment and rich folk culture, but it seemed that the only way to attract tourists was to build an agritainment resort, where visitors from modern cities can enjoy special cuisine and pick fruits and vegetables.

However, Xiao thought the village needed regional resources in order to further boost the tourism industry.

In 2015, Xiao and seven villagers jointly established a rural ecotourism cooperative.

They developed a variety of activities based on the four seasons and different holidays. They also utilized the terrace fields and rice fields as campsites for visitors.

In 2018, Dongjiang Village received more than 190,000 tourists, directly driving regional tourism revenue of more than 7.3 million yuan.

"I have walked along every mountain, every river and every road here these years. I really enjoy it and I don't want to leave the place," Xiao told local media in 2019.

"People's life quality is really getting better and better," he added very proudly.

Now, as the village's Party chief and head of the villagers' committee, Xiao continues to lead local people on the road of having a better life.

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