THE local government has recently been looking at how it can develop rural tourism. Feng Jianmin finds out about the ways in which villages in the region are attracting more and more visitors by offering tea tasting, farm-themed fun parks and cozy accommodation.

For the governments of second-tier cities in the Yangtze River Delta, developing rural tourism is more than simply providing a place for the town dwellers to have fun and relax, government officials said during a recent media countryside tour.

Around 10 years ago, Hangzhou started to explore the potential of rural tourism. After years of experimenting, the government found the measures rewarding as they have brought money and a better natural environment for those farmers who used to live on hunting and logging.

"Enthusiasm to travel will remain high after the World Expo," said Wang Jian'er, director of Hangzhou Information Office. "Rural tourism is a popular industry that integrates farming and modern tourism."

Recently, as more and more seasoned travelers are getting bored with the usual eating-farming-sleeping model of agricultural fun, Hangzhou, along with other cities in the Yangtze River Delta started to contribute ideas and money to diversify the participatory rural tourism.

Meijiawu

The journey started at Meijiawu, a village in Hangzhou that produces the best Longjing tea. Situated halfway up a hill and embraced by stretches of green tea trees, the village is a popular rural resort for Hangzhou residents. It got even busier after a tunnel was completed 10 years ago, shortening the distance to the downtown area to about a 30-minute car ride.

At first, farmers were happy with selling tea leaves to visitors. It was not until three years ago that villagers found it much more profitable to serve tea to customers rather than to sell it.

Nowadays, about 130 local families are running their own teahouses, offering organic places for visitors to relax and enjoy tea.

"We are now transforming from a tea-selling business to a tea-making one," said Zhu Jianming, an official in the village. "Normally a kilo of high-quality tea leaves is sold at around 1,000 yuan (US$150), but if you serve tea to people, you can earn three times the money from the same amount of tea leaves."

Zhu said more tea leaves are consumed each year, and local residents averagely earn 30,000 yuan a year.

To make the business endurable, local government now closely oversees sanitary conditions of teahouses, food safety and fire control facilities in the village. They occasionally force the closure of some unqualified tea houses to maintain a decent standard.

Farmer's Paradise

About 15 kilometers northwest of Hangzhou's downtown, there is a theme park called Farmer's Paradise.

Ideal for families, the park offers a wide range of performances and entertainment facilities featuring animated figures based on popular vegetables, animals and farmers.

For children, this is a land full of fun and color. For their parents, the park provides a basic introduction of agricultural knowledge to their kids.

Previously a state-owned farmland, the 180,000-square-meter park opened in 2008 with an investment of 150 million yuan.

"We believed that businesses aimed at kids can be very profitable, and we didn't want to spend much money to build a theme park as fancy as Disneyland," said Qian Yimin, director of the park. "An agriculture theme is suitable for us because it's a meaningful and familiar issue."

The park now employs around 300 staff from nearby villages, and buys a lot of products from local farmers to treat an average of 3,000 visitors a day.

Yuhang District, where the park is located, signed contracts with several tourist agencies in Shanghai last month in an attempt to attract more Shanghai tourists to the district. The recently opened high-speed railway shortened the trip time between Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station and the district to about 40 minutes.

The district received 3.6 million tourists in 2009, with an annual revenue of 323 million yuan.

Baisha Village

Lin'an City, a satellite city of Hangzhou, appeals to visitors with its mountainous landscape. In the Baisha Village, which was allegedly close to the origin of Taihu Lake, farm houses host guests near the scenic spots.

The major nearby scenic spot, Taihuyuan (Origin of Taihu Lake), was developed in 1998 and features woods and waterfalls, and offers activities such as rock climbing and rope sliding.

The decision was made after a devastating flood in 1997, when forests were severely damaged by decades of logging. Since the 1980s, villagers cut wood to sell at cheap prices because the local landscape is not suitable for farming.

"It was a very poor place even crows didn't come for food," said Xia Yindi, 57, owner of a farm house. "And since the government gave us loans to develop accommodation, we don't cut wood any more."

Previously affiliations to provide accomodation and meals for visitors, farm houses in the village gradually emerged as an attraction themselves. People from nearby cities would make particular visits to the farm houses for a quiet and yummy holiday. Unlike a scenic spot that charges a considerable entrance fee, these farm houses provide more intimate and cost-efficient deals.

It costs around 80 yuan a day to sleep and eat in these houses, and 1,500 yuan if visitors stay for a whole month. The cost is attractive for retired elders seeking a quieter environment and better air quality.

"Years ago, we encouraged locals to expand their homes so that more people would come to the scenic spot," said Zhang Xiaojing, head of the Lin'an tourist bureau. "But now these houses are bringing visitors to the spots."

There are 378 families and about 29 million square meter of woods in the village. Each family takes care of several acres of the woods and sells the fruits and nuts these trees bear. Visitors are able to participate in their daily work if they wish.

There are now more than 140 farm house operators in the village. They received more than 200,000 visitors last year, with revenue of around 15 million yuan. Villagers averagely earned 15,000 yuan a year, of which 65 percent comes from providing shelter and catering for tourists, government officials said.

"Since tourism is developed, no one would ever cut wood again. We've now entered a benign circle between rural tourism and scenic spots," said Zhang. "This mode is instrumental to develop rural tourism elsewhere in Lin'an."