In Hebei, county's improvement benefits residents

After dinner, Zhao Ran, 38, accompanied by her husband and two daughters, took a long walk from her home at Tianningyuan residential community to Nanmen, an architectural landmark in Zhengding county of Shijiazhuang, Hebei province.

"A round-trip walk is about 4 kilometers," she said. "We walk the route almost every day as exercise." She added that her hometown has changed a lot in recent years and residents like her are happier because they can enjoy more convenience and sightseeing.

Zhao's home, Zhengding, is a county that covers about 500 square kilometers and has a population of 517,000. It's around 250 km southwest of Beijing.

The county is known for its abundant ancient architecture, including temples and pagodas.

Starting from 2013, the local government rolled out a series of measures to repair and protect the ancient buildings, and also improve the county's environment including streets and parks, to develop its tourism industry.

"All the main streets downtown are decorated with lamps or lanterns," Zhao said. She said the decorations made her and her family want to go out more frequently because the surroundings are beautiful.

The south gate of the ancient town is at the end of one of the beautiful streets Zhao mentioned. Both sides are dotted with two ancient temples, pagodas, shops selling handwork and restaurants where tourists can eat local specialties.

"I can see many tourists walk along the street, and it's very alive at night," Zhao said.

Parking is free and more than 600 new public toilets have been built to serve tourists.

Last year, the county received about 15 million tourist visits, an increase of 15.5 percent year-on-year. Tourism yielded more than a 7.8 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) last year, up 28.2 percent year-on-year, according to the government.

Per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents in Zhengding reached 34,862 yuan and 20,310 yuan, respectively, last year, rising by 9 percent and 9.6 percent year-on-year.

"Being a Zhengding resident is an honor for me now, because we have great places to go everyday and have great food," Zhao said. "Many of my friends envy me and want to come have a look at this livable place."