Photo taken on Sept. 29, 2020 shows entrances of homestays at a street in Dongbi Village at Sansha Town of Xiapu County in Ningde, southeast China's Fujian Province. "Xiapu County should be always unspoiled and simply the way it was, such is the hometown where my heart belongs... After 16-year rootless life in big cities, running a homestay here now leads me to the idyllic life I desired in my country home ..." wrote Chen Shuman, owner of the homestay named "Shijianhai", in her diary. Chen Shuman and her husband Liu Zhongmin started their business in Beijing as fresh graduates in 2003. After a visit to her hometown in Xiapu, the magnificent and picturesque scenery at seaside inspired them with the idea of running a homestay, which since then had been lingering in their mind for years. In 2016, the couple started doing surveys on the development of homestay industry in hometown and finally made up their mind to commence their new cause with a four-story building at Dongbi Village of Sansha Town in Xiapu County. Re-designing and decorating the building, the couple used their specialized knowledge learned in universities in an attempt to make it an ideal residence. Distinct in style and comfortable to stay, their homestay has received over 200,000 visits of tourists since its opening in August 2017. During the last eight-day National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, more than 3,000 visitors spent their leisure time here. Hong Wei, a local from Huazhu Village of Sansha Town in Xiapu County, has another story about the homestay industry here. Like most young people at the village in previous years, he once worked as a migrant worker in other places. Looking at the traditional but dilapidated houses in the village, Hong and his brother determined to convert the buildings into a homestay with local characteristics and develop rural tourism. With great efforts, they succeeded. At present, they have not only benefited from the homestay "Haiqinxuan", but also brought job opportunities to their fellow villagers. Scattered along the coast at Sansha Town, over 50 homestays are engaged in ecological tourism to date. Taking advantage of unique natural resources, the homestay industry here has helped increase incomes of local people as well as improve their living conditions in an eco-friendly way. (Xinhua/Wei Peiquan)
