Xinyu boosts sightseeing agriculture industry

By He Yan ( chinadaily.com.cn )

Updated: 2012-09-13

An aquatic sports and entertainment television show is performing on stage in Changfang, a village in Oli township, Xinyu city, Jiangxi province. Changfang is also a national agri-tour demonstration area.

"This event has helped our village gain popularity among tourists. There are already a dozen scenic spots in Changfang, including a Chinese bayberry plantation, an organic vegetable garden and an oil extraction workshop. The scenic spots attract over 100,000 tourists per year and raised villager income by over 8,000 yuan ($1,262.4) per household,"said Chang Meisheng, secretary of the Party Committee of Changfang village.

Xinyu is renowned as a land flowing with milk and honey. It boasts rich water and soil resources as well as a sound agricultural production system, all of which provide favorable conditions for the development of sightseeing agriculture.

In recent years, Xinyu has established a group of agricultural tourist resorts to encourage urban residents to return to nature and experience farming culture. By developing agri-tourism, self-harvest programs, fishing parks and field sightseeing programs, Xinyu has created an agri-tourism industry and grown into a well-established rural tourist destination.

More than 160 leisure tourism agricultural parks and enterprises in Xinyu receive more than 800,000 tourists per year, with total revenue reaching 210 million yuan ($33.14 million). In the process, the village created 14,000 new jobs for unemployed rural laborers.

Edited by Zhao Qian and Michael Thai