Green revolution sees county blossom

Diversification

While Yu relies mainly on his stables, Ren Hongmei, a Bailang resident and former lumberwoman, runs several businesses, thanks to rising tourist numbers.

In 2003, Ren's family was one of 40 households who moved into a newly established deer village to raise the animals. Together, they run at least five businesses.

While planting jelly ear, a type of edible fungus, and tree seedlings for sale, Ren also runs a 14-bedroom rural resort that can accommodate up to 40 people, plus a shop that sells local specialties such as powdered deer antler, a popular traditional Chinese medicine, jelly ear and wild mushrooms.

She and her family invested 800,000 yuan in the resort in 2014, more than 60 percent of which came from a zero-interest loan provided by the local government.

All the bedrooms in her resort are booked for a minimum of 10 days during summer and the establishment is also full during celebrations, such as the seven-day National Day Holiday, which starts on Oct 1 every year.

While she finds it difficult to calculate the exact income generated by all her businesses, Ren said her family makes about 100,000 yuan a year.

"Life has improved a lot," she said.

In addition to providing antlers, which are culled annually and sell for 3,000 yuan per kilogram, and other byproducts, the deer play an important role in attracting tourists.

Zheng Xiaolin, the village head, said his deer farm attracted more than 20,000 tourists last winter. He hires up to 16 residents from poverty-stricken families to help care for his 100-plus deer and serve the tourists, who can interact with the gentle animals and buy food, such as corn, to feed them.

The farm charges an admission fee of 50 yuan per adult during the peak winter season and 30 yuan at all other times. The business generates annual revenue of 100,000 to 200,000 yuan, Zheng said.

"I was once a poorly-paid lumberman, just like the other residents. After logging was banned, many people chose to make a living as migrant workers in urban areas. However, the tourism boom has seen many people return, and some have become managers at resorts and other businesses. Our income is much higher than before," he said.