Defeating poverty

An eastern county in China offers tourists a modern rural setting, Cheng Yuezhu reports in Linyi, Shandong province.

The idyllic scene in the countryside of Yinan county, with small cottages sprinkled over verdant grasslands, gives no sign of its dilapidated past.

The county located in Linyi, East China's Shandong province, is now home to various resorts and sightseeing destinations suitable for family road trips. A leading example is the Zhujialin Pastoral Complex.

Lying deep in the mountains, the area saw a gradual decline, with young people going to work in the cities, leaving the elderly in the villages. As time rolled by, many houses had collapsed and old trees nestled behind the shabby courtyard walls.

But today, the complex incorporates farmlands, orchards, boardinghouses, galleries and museums showcasing traditional culture, as well as other tourist attractions. Covering 2,870 hectares, the area is home to 16,000 residents in 23 villages.

The transformation has also drawn more young people back to the countryside, one of them being Wu Sanmei, a young social media practitioner who moved to Zhujialin in April.