Better Tourism, Better Life, Better World” project shows cases of poverty alleviation in China through tourism. The project, includes photo exhibition and documentary series, describe provinces, autonomous regions, cities and villages across China that were once in severe poverty and thanks to the tourism industry got out of poverty and had a better life”.
Huangling Village, Shangrao City, Jiangxi Province, China
Huangling Vilage in Jiangwan Town, Wuyuan County, Jiangxi Province has a history of over 580 years, and is known as an “ancient village on the cliff”. Ten years ago, more than 180 families had left the village; only 68 households remained. Empty homes and abandoned farmland were seen everywhere and the village was on the verge of disintegrating. To address the situation, the Huangling Scenic Area pioneered the model of “participatory poverty relief”. For the villagers to participate in tourism and benefit therefrom, the Scenic Area encouraged the villagers, mainly the impoverished folks, to take part in the planning for the hometown development, the renovation of the ancient village and the operation of the scenic area, At present, the ancient village, as a 4A scenic spot, receives up to 30,000 tourists daily. 90% of the young and middle-aged villagers who worked at jobs elsewhere have now returned to work or start new businesses in the village. The annual per capita income of the villagers has increased to 35,000 RMB from 3,500 RMB before. In 2017, the number of tourists visiting Huangling Village exceeded one million for the first time and, in 2019, the number reached 44 million. The village has become a hot tourist spot. Serving as a new model, the Huangling model”, of poverty alleviation through rural tourism.
Shenshan Village, Maoping Township, Jinggangshan City, Jiangxi Province
Shenshan Village, Maoping Township, Jinggangshan City is located at the foot of Huangyang Boundary, 18 kilometers away from the famous Octagonal Building revolutionary sites. It governs two villager groups, Shenshan Group and Zhoushan Group. Before 2014, the poverty problem in Maoping was prominent and there was no road leading to the village; the environment of the village was dirty, disorderly and bad, and the villagers’ income was low. Later, the village took a number of measures, such as poverty alleviation through industry, tourism, housing, guarantee and infrastructure, to lift itself out of poverty in February 2017, achieving remarkable results. (The magic of longevity village in Bama)
