Village prospers by embracing ethnic culture, tourism

Since 2012, the tourism industry in Hala Daur village has been booming, bringing its villagers better lives.

Hala, a distinctive village with ethnic minority elements in the Meilisi district of Qiqihar, Heilongjiang province, has a population of 1,052, 70 percent of which are Daur people.

The village saw more than 570,000 tourist visits in 2019, bringing its tourism revenue up to 75 million yuan. The annual per-capita income of the village reached 11,000 yuan ($1,671) in 2019.

When visiting, tourists can get familiar with the folk customs of the Daur ethnic group and take part in their traditional Kumule Festival.

Kang Shuzhen and her husband started their homestay business as the village started developing its local industry in 2016.

"The business can bring us more than 20,000 yuan every year," she said. "In the winter, I can stay in a warm room enjoying leisure time that was unimaginable before."