According to Shanxi’s Tourism Administration, in the next three years, a special fund of 15 million yuan will be earmarked from the fund for sustainable development of coal to support flourishing rural tourism. The funds for 2014 have already been available for the construction of support facilities in 36 villages such as parking lots, toilets, information centers, garbage and sewage disposal, footpaths, greening, etc.

The Tourism Administration plans to support 100 villages in 3 years, more than 30 a year, to become models of successful rural tourism, so that it can become the third largest tourism product brand of Shanxi, following ‘history and culture’ tourism and ‘natural’ tourism. It also plans to develop at least 3 model counties, 30 model towns, 10 leisure sites, and 100 model villages, thus realizing a common development at all levels.

Rural tourism has seen a vigorous development in Shanxi in recent years. Tours in the countryside attract more and more city dwellers. In 2013, the rural tourism arrivals exceeded 24 million, 36.54% more than 2012, with an income of nearly 13 billion yuan, which increased 9.11% year-on-year.

Rural tourism has been developing rapidly since 2004. By the end of last year, there were 22 model counties for leisure agriculture and rural tourism, 80 model sites for leisure agriculture and rural tourism, 104 model sites for agricultural tourism, and 6,596 individual operations such as rural home inns and leisure agriculture gardens. Rural tourism contributes not only to lifting the underdeveloped countryside out of poverty, but also prospering Shanxi tourism with increasing benefits and a growing market influence.

Compared with other provinces, the rural tourism spots in Shanxi are not found on such a large scale. But the advantages are obvious: the spots are mainly located near cities as well as places where the agriculture is well developed, so that tourists can be engaged in agriculture and have an experiential recreation. According to Feng Jianping, the director of Tourism Administration, rural tourism brings positive effects to rural economic growth. Meanwhile, it promotes the development of comprehensive supplementary reforms and economic reconstruction.