by Xinhua writers Wang Tianyu, Xu Penghang, Li Siyuan
WUHAN, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- After nightfall, Xiong Yang walked into a bar to enjoy lively music and some drinks in Shennongjia. This is the second time that Xiong has come here for holiday, an ideal resort with cool climate, fresh air and beautiful scenery.
Located in the west of central China's Hubei Province, Shennongjia, with over 90 percent forest coverage, has an average elevation of 1,700 meters and an average summer temperature of some 21 degrees Celsius, which makes itself a popular destination for tourists to escape heat.
This summer, Shennongjia's tourism industry booms with a large number of tourists pouring in to enjoy cool tours thanks to the full operation of Zhengzhou-Chongqing high-speed railway on June 20, which is the first high-speed railway passing through the forestry district, enabling people from Wuhan, Chongqing and Zhengzhou cities to travel here within three hours.
"Since June 20, Shennongjia has welcomed over 680,000 tourists, with key tourist attractions receiving nearly 600,000 tourists, an increase of 78.2 percent over the same period in 2019," said Zhang Shoudong, director of Shennongjia Forest District Cultural and Tourism Bureau.
"We had no vacancies in the past month and some tourists booked rooms even a week or more in advance," said Chen Ju, owner of a homestay in Dajiuhu Township.
Chen's family used to live in Dajiuhu wetland, growing vegetables for a living. Five years ago, they moved to the town in response to local government's call for ecological protection and started to work in the tourism industry.
"In the past, we can only earn 20,000 to 30,000 yuan (about 2,930 to 4,400 U.S. dollars) a year. But now, the gross profit of operating homestay is 10,000 yuan a day in summer tourism season. Our living standard has been greatly raised," said Chen.
"Tourists help boost the development of industries like catering, accommodation and transportation. Local people benefit a lot from them," said Zhang, adding that Shennongjia's tourism revenue totaled 2.85 billion yuan from January to July this year.
These years, seeking a cool summer has become a trend among holiday makers. Western areas of Hubei Province, with rich ecotourism resources, pleasant climate and convenient transportation, have caught the eyes of tourists, thus not only making local "summer economy" thrive, but also attracting investors.
In Hejiaping Village of Gaoqiao Township in Yichang City, Peng Mei and her husband went back to their hometown in 2021 and invested 1.7 million yuan to renovate the family's ancestral home, turning it into a homestay that covers an area of 700 square meters.
"My hometown now has charming natural landscape and complete infrastructure. I want to make full use of these resources and do something for my home village. Running a homestay is a good choice, which can also provide job opportunities for locals," said Peng.
Led by people like Peng, more and more villagers start running self-operated homestays in the town. Up to now, the town has nine homestays in total, offering accommodation and farmhouse food, as well as local agricultural products to travelers.
"We will set up tourism cooperatives in the future as a driving force to increase the income and life quality of the villagers," said Li Mingfeng, head of Gaoqiao Township.
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