Heritages plus tourism: how an old village shakes off poverty
Since the development of tourism in Keyi village, Mile city of southeast Yunnan’s Honghe Hani autonomous prefecture, the livelihood of Bi Kun and his family has been significantly improved. Today, Bi Kun is the owner of a restaurant named Yi Xiangyuan in the village. With an annual income of 70,000 to 80,000 yuan, his family has already been lifted out from poverty.
The Keyi village, about 22 kilometers away from Mile, is a settlement of the A’xi people - one branch of the Yi ethnic minority group - who are particularly well-known for “A’xi Tiaoyue”, a unique form of dance as well as their legendary tales. It is worth mentioning that “A’xi Tiaoyue” has been named National Intangible Culture Heritage.
Over the last few years, the village has been concentrated on lifting its villagers out of poverty by engaging them in the businesses associated with sightseeing and tourism. Agritourism is one example. Meanwhile, a range of jobs have emerged as catering, hotel and some other services begin to flourish. Thanks to tourism, the livelihoods of residents in Keyi have been substantially improved, and local infrastructures have also been largely upgraded. Today, an increasing number of villagers have voluntarily devoted themselves in the tourist industry. It’s not exaggerated to say that it is the combination of cultural heritages and tourism that have changed their life fundamentally.
Long Congyun, for instance, is the very first resident who launched agritourism business in the Keyi village. As his place is always crammed with tourists from around China, he and his wife even have to employ staff to help them out at home. He Xiuqiong, Long Congyun’s wife, is also an intangible cultural heritage inheritor of the traditional Yi embroidery. By joining the production and protection processes of this unique art, new wealth has been brought to this family.
According to Zeng Hulong, the head of the villager, since the development of rural tourism, a series of infrastructure projects have been completed, including the pavement of asphalt roads and access to clean tap water. Nowadays, the Keyi village has turned itself from an impoverished ethnic minority village to a popular tourist destination. The annual income of each villager has jumped from only 2,000 yuan in the past to around 15,000 yuan.
Having received several awards from the provincial government, Keyi is known as a beautiful and tranquil village, and one of the best destinations for rural tourism across Yunnan. There is no reason to doubt the bright future of this village that has put enormous effort to lift itself out of poverty.
Writing by Han Chengyuan, Li Hengqiang, Liu Ziyu and Zi Danyao; trans-editing by Wang Jingzhong