Southern Taihang Mountains rise as tourist hotspot, bringing prosperity to local villagers

Photo shows a paragliding base in Linlyu Mountain, the Taihang Mountains, central China's Henan Province. (Photo courtesy of the Culture and Tourism Bureau of Anyang)

Once little known, the southern Taihang Mountains in central China's Henan Province have become a popular destination, offering experiences ranging from paragliding and rock climbing to mountain sightseeing and water activities.

Walking along a cliffside road carved into a sheer rock face in Guoliang village, Ms. Chen, a tourist, held her friends' hands in amazement and wondered how such a road could have been built by hand. Chen stayed at a local B&B for more than half a month and had experiences such as visiting scenic areas, buying specialty products and more.

Photo shows B&Bs at the Wanxianshan scenic area in Huixian city, central China's Henan Province. (People's Daily Online/Shang Mingzhen)

Song Hui's family has lived in Nanping village for generations.

"Back then, we lived at the mercy of the weather or had to leave home to scrape together a living," said Song. Surrounded by mountains but unable to make a living from them has been a long-standing frustration passed down through generations of local people in the southern Taihang Mountains.

In 1992, Nanping village was included in a scenic area development plan. Four years later, the 4th National Rock Climbing Championship was held there, and for the first time, the secluded mountain village was brought into the national spotlight.

Villagers soon opened agritainment facilities, and Song's was among the first to take the plunge. At the time, his agritainment offered a few mud-brick rooms with shared bathrooms.

"There were hardly any tourists, and the scenic area had no facilities. Charging a few dozen yuan (1 yuan is about $0.14) a night was considered high, and we still had to undercut each other to keep guests," Song recalled.

Photo shows Yuntai Mountain, the Taihang Mountains, in central China's Henan Province. (Photo/Duan Chao)

Things changed in 2014, when the government took over management. International rock-climbing competitions were hosted, mountain roads were paved, viewing platforms added, and utilities upgraded.

Over the past five years, the proportion of B&Bs in the Wanxianshan scenic area has jumped from under 5 percent to 65 percent of the market.

"We never imagined that we could charge an average of over 300 yuan a night and still be fully booked," Song said. Before, summer was the only busy season. Now, with all the new cultural and tourism activities, there's no off-season.

The Wanxianshan scenic area is a snapshot of Huixian city's push to develop all-for-one tourism. In the first half of this year, the city welcomed nearly 10.34 million tourist visits and generated more than 4.59 billion yuan in tourism revenue.