The city of Anshun, in Guizhou province has found that rural tourism can help its economy, now that statistics shows that, in the January - March period, it received 800,000 tourists, for a 60-percent increase over the same last year period, and bringing revenues of 400 million yuan ($64.43 million), up 58 percent.
The flowers of this season are a major selling point and the local tourism bureau has done a lot to promote the image of Anshun as flower heaven for sightseers, and, being included on Sina Travel's flower sightseeing list recently as one of the Top 10 destinations.
It was also boosted by the range and variety of flowers and this, in turn, has driven the local farm house B&B and house restaurant business, which has Zhang Guiyou, a villager who runs a farm house restaurant in the sightseeing area, said,"My restaurant is almost fully booked every day during the flower season and the business is better than ever before. Tourists like a taste of local village dishes or an experience in a farm house life while viewing the flowers."
