Villages vitalized by terraces to heaven(4)

"The stories, history, traditions, and beliefs there are closely related to the land, from ancient villages to magnificent terraces, from hardworking farmers to the culture passed down through generations," Lu adds.

Yu says that today, many other areas with terraced landscapes come to Longsheng for tips on development.

In 2022, the village was named among the Best Tourism Villages by the World Tourism Organization, thanks to its achievements in balancing tourism and economic development, while protecting the environment.

Yu says that more than 200 households in the village run homestays, around 70 percent of which are booked during peak tourist periods, mostly in summer and autumn.

"Next, we aim to introduce more cultural and tourism-related projects suitable to the area, to enrich the experience and further the development of the cultural and tourism sectors," Yu says.

"At the same time, we will continue to strengthen the protection of our culture, terraced landscapes, and traditional architecture, to ensure that terrace culture continues to thrive in our generation."

Local resident Pan Yingfang received more than 40,000 yuan in tourism dividends last year, the most in Dazhai.

Before the road was built in 2003, her family's small rice fields barely helped keep their heads above water.