Tourism a boon for Xinjiang village

People in a village of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region are leading a better life because of tourism. They have made the best of its location advantage and attracted talents to help with their development. 

Pingxiliang, a villlage in Urumqi, enjoys tourism resources nearby including ski resort, waterfall and forest. 

Shen Huiping, a resident from the capital city Urumqi, rented a house from a villager and opened a homestay in the village at the end of 2019. 

"The village has a perfect location with flower sea and forests in summer and a ski resort in winter, which can attract a lot of tourists," the 52-year-old said. 

As a former administrator in a hotel in Urumqi city, she has practiced her management and aesthetic idea in decoration and operation in her homestay.

She invested about 700,000 yuan ($108,290) in decorating the house and said she expects to recover her cost in 2022 due to the good income. She paid 30,000 yuan in annual rental.

Dozens of citizens like Shen have come to the village and brought more chances and income for local people. 

Villagers earn money through rental income and salary as employees. Some of them are running their own homestays. 

Li Guiqin, the village's Party chief, said they now have 28 homestays in operation and another 27 in plan. Among all its 674 villagers, more than half are involved in tourism industry.

The village officials introduced a company from Shenzhen, Guangdong province, to build unused houses into homestays. 

"As houses and roads improved and tourism facility developed, villagers returned from big cities to make money at home," Li said. 

Last year, the average income of each villager reached about 31,000 yuan. 

Shen signed a rental contract of 15 years because she said she was confidence in tourism here.

"I have seen the number of homestays increase over the years, which is good for business environment. Bumpy roads became smooth and houses have been equipped with flush toilets and central heating," she said.

She said it is wonderful to work in such a friendly environment. 

"I like the neighborhood here very much. We usually drop by each other's home. On sunny days, we chat by roadside," she said. 

She plans to open another homestay here because she said the village is changing fast in a good way.