A special street in the picturesque Jiuzhaigou Valley uses Tibetan culture to attract tourists.

There are shops that sell all kinds of things, ranging from Tibetan artwork and handicrafts to items like phone cases and stickers. People come to see the fancy-themed hotels, barbecue restaurants and cafes. Young locals in ethnic clothing always invite tourists to sing and dance with them. Though the street is ancient, it is filled with a youthful atmosphere.

This cultural street is called "Paradise Entrance". There are more than 70 shops on the street and their owners aren't only locals, but also merchants and college students from other places looking for business opportunities. The founders of the street are, however, four Tibetan students: Zhou Qiang, Gan Lu, Chen Yanjun and Li Shan. They used to study and work in big cities like Beijing and Chengdu, but all chose to go back to start their own business.

Gan Lu, who's from Ngaba prefecture, Sichuan Province, graduated from Beijing Normal University. He believes that his hometown is the best place in the world, where there are green hills and clear water under the blue sky. The villagers are good at horse riding and archery, as well as knowing about animals and plants: "It's like merging into the nature."

During his study in Beijing, he found that people knew too little about his hometown. People in the outside world believe it is all about poverty and underdevelopment, and to counteract this view, Gan began to think about making it a better place.

Coincidentally, Zhou, Chen and Li were thinking about the same thing. They hit it off and went back to Ngaba in 2013.

"We wanted a street that shows the spirit of young people while promoting Tibetan culture."

They quickly hatched a plan and started a tourism company, where each of them could use their expertise.

Zhou oversaw the construction because he used to work for a construction company in Chengdu, and is an expert in building materials and site management.

Chen is good at communicating and bargaining with people so he often gets things at lower prices, and so he was in charge of purchasing.

Li is a problem solver. He's often needed to fix PR troubles.

Despite all the obstacles, these four young men managed to raise the ten million yuan required to rent the shops in three ancient alleys and "Paradise Entrance" street was finally opened in 2014.

The entire street is divided into four sections: the pub section, the shopping section, the gourmet section and the cultural square. So far it has provided about 120 jobs, and the average daily sales exceed 45 thousand yuan.

"Building our hometown is not just big talk," says Gan Lu. "Whenever you decide to come back and do something, you are building it." Gan and his friends are still working hard to turn their hometown into a more prosperous place.