How tourism is creating new livelihoods in China's rural villages

Tourism is opening fresh avenues for boosting incomes in rural China. In two villages across central and southwest China, locals are turning their landscapes, age-old cultural customs and handcraft traditions into steady streams of earnings.

Nestled in the Wuling Mountains in Hunan Province, Shibadong Village marks where China's targeted poverty alleviation initiative first took shape. Xinhua News Agency records show its per capita annual income stood at merely 1,668 yuan ($249 dollars) in 2013.

The village built its tourism offering around its natural setting and Miao ethnic heritage. It kept its original wooden dwellings and stone lanes intact while putting in place support facilities for visitors. Miao embroidery has grown into a key local industry, with dedicated workshops training women to craft garments, ornaments and souvenirs for sale.

By 2025, the village's per capita annual income had climbed to 30,755 yuan – roughly 18 times the 2013 figure. It welcomed over 620,000 visitors and took in nearly 15 million yuan from tourism. More than 300 villagers found work in the local tourism sector. Miao embroidery goods have also reached overseas buyers, including those in Germany and Austria.

In Yunnan Province, Simengla Wa Village anchors its tourism development on the living traditions of the Wa people. Tourists can watch wooden drum rituals, join hands-on food-making activities and immerse themselves in Wa culture.

A tourism cooperative was set up here in 2020, enlisting all 73 households as its shareholders. Villagers can invest with their land, homes or capital, and receive a share of the profits.

By 2025, the village was home to 10 family restaurants, five guesthouses and 40 stalls selling farm produce. Seventy-seven villagers held stable jobs tied to tourism. That year, the village drew some 630,000 visitors and earned 8.6 million yuan in tourism revenue.

These two villages may have charted their own paths, yet have both based tourism growth on their own assets and ensure the local people remain part of the process. Their experience makes one thing clear: drawing crowds is just one aspect of rural development. Creating local jobs and letting villagers reap the rewards of tourism matter just as much.

Tourism expansion must not come at the cost of the natural environment, nor should living cultural traditions be simplified into staged shows for sightseers. For rural communities, sustainable progress hinges on more than visitor numbers. It hinges on ensuring the benefits of tourism stay with the people who live there.