Villages profit from lucid waters, lush mountains

Meanwhile, to ensure sufficient power supply, the company added seven new power transformers to the scenic area, upgrading its capacity from the original 400 kilovolt-amperes to 5,840 kVA.

It has also renovated and built power lines extending for 37.2 kilometers, largely elevating its power supply capacity.

According to Wu Ailing from the Liandu District Electric Power Co, since 2018, it has invested some 15 million yuan in adding 15 power grid engineering projects to the region, helping to boost rural vitalization.

To beautify the area, the company has placed power lines underground, and landscaped power transformer boxes to integrate power supply equipment with the scenery.

Broadening industries

Amid improvements to the quality of life, the driving force of industries is the core. At present, more villagers are joining the tourism industry, resulting in full employment.

At the entrance of the scenic area, 51-year-old Fang Aiwei operates a 10-square-meter grocery store, which earns him an annual income of 70,000 to 80,000 yuan.

"I don't have to work as a migrant worker or farm the fields, but just sit in the store and chat with my neighbors. I did not dare to think of such days before," he said.

The hardworking residents of Yantou village even took advantage of the green transition to plant tea.

"We grow tea on the high mountains, and with low pollution and high quality, many people come to buy them," said Liu Huorong, a tea grower from the village, adding that the annual profit from selling tea exceeds 200,000 yuan for his family.

Due to high demand, the tea planting area in Yantou has continuously expanded in recent years, with over 350 households engaged in the occupation, garnering an output value surpassing 12 million yuan each year, Liu said.

Before 2006, Yantou was a poor mountainous village with a per capita income of less than 2,000 yuan each year, recalled Zhang Weiwu, director of the Yantou Village Committee.

However, it now has more than 30 homestays, with a capacity to host over 300,000 tourists each year and an annual earning capacity of more than 10 million yuan, he said, noting that the average annual income of villagers exceeds 46,000 yuan.

"The convening of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has made us more confident in the development of Yantou village," he said.

While continuing to protect the local ecology, he said the village will vigorously develop the homestay industry, help villagers increase their incomes and make the village more prosperous.