Sixty-five villages were selected as rural tourism spots in Northern China's Shanxi province.

The Shanxi government, with the help of 50 experts, conducted field surveys and visited local residents in 174 villages. After both expert reviews and online polls, a list ranking the province's most beautiful villages was released on July 28.

The tourism bureau and agricultural department made the ranking based on five criteria: natural scenery, local customs, quality of life, cultural beauty and development.

In addition, a hotline was opened to collect comments and advice from tourists, as well as statistics from the tourism, agriculture and media industries.

The selected villages have won wide public recognition since the list was issued. Among them are pilot villages for nationwide agricultural tourism, as well as villages known for their history and culture.