A village in a mountainous province of China, how do farmers do tourism that people come to visit?

I arrived at Fengyang Village, Dali City (Yunnan, China) one afternoon, the plateau city of Yunnan Province is peaceful in the cool afternoon sunlight. Like the setting in a movie, Fengyang Village still retains its rustic look with brick walls stained by time, rough ancient stone roads winding around the ancient roofs of the Bai ethnic people.

Unlike a few years ago, this small village is now a famous tourist destination on the Dali - Lijiang - Shangri-La tourist route of Yunnan province, along with Erhai Lake, Dali Ancient City, Lijiang Ancient City or Erhe Ancient Town...

Many ancient houses of the Bach ethnic people have now been turned into homestays, cafes, and beautiful check-in spots; farmers now know how to turn local dishes and ethnic dyed fabrics into unique cultural products...

Mr. To Hai Ninh - a tour guide in Kunming City (Yunnan), boasted: "Before the movie "Going Where the Wind Blows" was broadcast, Dali was not an ideal destination, this city was quite quiet, but after the fever of the movie, Dali emerged as a new destination in Yunnan".

And until now, Chinese management agencies and media still take Dali as a successful model of promoting, introducing culture, and creating tourism attraction through movies.

The author took a souvenir photo at the house that was the main setting of the movie “Going Where the Wind Blows” in Phuong Duong Hamlet, Dali City (Yunnan, China). Photo: Ha Van

According to Shanghai news, the TV series "Going Where the Wind Blows" - starring Liu Yifei and Li Xian - has contributed to the growth of tourism in Yunnan province thanks to its beautiful images of the countryside, green rice fields, yellow rapeseed fields, delicious food, and simple farmers in the rice fields.

Statistics show that during the 2023 Lunar New Year, immediately after the film aired, Yunnan Province earned 38.435 billion yuan in tourism revenue in 7 days, ranking first among 21 provinces.

According to the Yunnan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, the number of tourists in 16 cities under the province maintained a double-digit growth rate. The integration of culture and tourism with new products and new forms became the highlight of the holiday season and was favored by tourists.

On January 17, 2023, the official account of the Yunnan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism posted a post about how the hit TV series "Go Where the Wind Is" had stimulated a tourism boom in Yunnan. "Follow Xu Hongdou to eat Dali flower cakes", "Travel Yunnan together during the Spring Festival this year", "Take a trip to where the wind is" and other related topics swept all major social media platforms.

There are about 7,000 homestays and inns in Dali, of which mid-range to high-end accounts for 10%; the booking rate is about 80%, of which the booking rate of mid-range to high-end homestays has exceeded 90%. Not only that, actor Li Xian was also praised by UNESCO's Weibo social network account: "In Going to Where the Wind Comes, the character Xie Zhiyao played by Li Xian has brought into play the power of intangible cultural heritage, reviving the economy of Yunmiao Village."

In fact, thanks to effective communication through works of art, many localities in Vietnam have also become famous tourist destinations. After the movie "Pao's Story", the house chosen as the main setting of the movie became a famous tourist destination in Dong Van (Ha Giang), creating jobs and income for many local people.

Phu Yen province, after the success of the film "I see yellow flowers on green grass" is also an attractive destination. According to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Phu Yen province, in 2022, Phu Yen welcomed 2.2 million visitors, 5.9 times higher than the previous year. Phu Yen has been called "the land of yellow flowers on green grass" since the film was released.

At a conference on culture, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan also emphasized: "The countryside is where people live in harmony with each other, in harmony with the natural environment. The winding, wide village roads, "trees mixed with leaves, rocks mixed with flowers". Clear ditches, rustic wooden fences covered with vines... People are happy when living in a space full of emotions, with familiar images like that".

In fact, Minister Le Minh Hoan's interpretations of the countryside are also the message that the film "Going to the Windy Place" wants to send to the audience. Hopefully, in the near future, there will be many beautiful villages across Vietnam, and the images of simple, honest farmers will be portrayed more in cultural and artistic works, as an effective channel to promote agricultural tourism and community tourism.

Source: https://danviet.vn/mot-thon-cua-tinh-mien-nui-trung-quoc-nong-dan-lam-du-lich-the-nao-ma-nguoi-nguoi-den-choi-20240610153736067.htm