Blazing a new path to prosperity in rural Zhejiang

Locals harvest persimmons in Xishantou village. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Tourism is paving a new road to prosperity in Zhejiang province's previously underdeveloped Tiantai county.

The elevated sightseeing terrace in Zhangjiajing village in Tiantai near the village's Yijinjing tourism town was crowded with visitors viewing the farmlands, rivers and mountains in mid-October.

Travelers also enjoyed a performance in Yijinjing based on the ancient Chinese martialarts book, I Chin Ching (Muscle-and-Tendon Change Classic).

Zhangjiajing resident Chen Guangxiang says per capita annual incomes have increased to 8,900 yuan ($1,277) compared with 4,600 yuan in 2015.

Chen, who's in his 70s, recalls feeling dissatisfied after returning to the village to retire after working outside several years ago.

"The country has been striving for moderate prosperity," he says.

"But my hometown was still so poor."

Most young people had left. So, the land was largely abandoned.