"We still needed to work outside," Pan says.
Ever since the village developed tourism over a decade ago, she started to receive annual bonuses.
"I also have income from planting the paddies, and life is much better than before," she says.
Being chosen as a rural vitalization model is a manifestation of both social and economic benefits, says Lei Chen, Longsheng Party secretary.
In recent years, the autonomous county has leveraged tourism — especially leisure agriculture and rural tourism — to adjust the agricultural economic structure, increase income for farmers, and enhance livelihoods.
A special annual tourism fund of up to 10 million yuan is available to help integrate tourism with urban and rural construction and preservation of resources, Lei says.
Multiple folk festivals based around ethnic costumes and artifacts, farming culture, revolutionary history and health preservation have been launched.
More effort will be made to showcase Longsheng's well-preserved environment and diverse ethnic culture to the world, with the goal of driving growth in tourist numbers and spending across the county, Lei says.
"Next, Longsheng aims to create a world-class tourism destination and demonstration area for ethnic cultural tourism in Guilin," Lei adds.
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