Boluo Village: Tourism injects new vitality into rural development

Boluo is a Yi ethnic village located in west Yunnan’s Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture. In Yi language, “Boluo” refers to a place of harvest. In recent years, the Boluo Village has given full play to its advantages of rich tourism resources, embarking on a new road to rural development and common prosperity.

“In the old days, there was even no venue for us to hold activities,” said villager Zi Chunrun. According to him, the infrastructure is getting better in the village. The newly-built cultural square, pond, arena for physical activities and renovated roads have brought a bright new look to the village. And these facilities have also laid the foundation for local tourism development.

During festivals, the villagers hold traditional physical activities like swinging, whipping tops, crossbows competition and others. They also invite people of other ethnic groups to join in the activities. Through these efforts, the villagers not only preserve local folk customs, but also build closer friendship with people invited.

On the first dragon day in every August of lunar calendar, local Yi people hold the Rice Festival to celebrate the bountiful harvest. It is the time to receive and serve relatives and guests. In recent years, villagers have enriched the content of the festival. Besides the ceremony of picking rice, tourists can also take part in activities including singing folk songs, making vowing, tasting cuisines and campfire party. They can also buy souvenirs in agricultural products and traditional folk crafts exhibitions.

Text by Zi Danyao from 927tour.com; trans-editing by Li Hengqiang