Island welcomes tourists after green upgrade

FUZHOU－The main streets of Fuding, a city surrounded by lush hills in East China's Fujian province, were nearly empty under the sweltering summer heat. But a dock in the city's southeast was packed with tourists, all of whom were waiting for a ferry to Yushan Island.

An increasingly popular resort, the island boasts a rugged coastline, extensive grassland and clear lakes, luring in flocks of visitors each year.

The booming tourism industry is attributed in part to ecological conservation.

The island's shore was once strewn with rotting trash and fishing equipment, a discomforting scene that prompted large-scale cleanup campaigns across the island.

After years of effort, the garbage was removed, a storage yard for fishing equipment was built and construction began on sewage treatment facilities. The cleanup campaigns have brought back the picturesque island and improved the living environment for villagers and holidaymakers.

"Yushan Island has become a popular destination after an ecosystem restoration," says Chen Weixin, deputy Party secretary of Yushan township.

To better develop its environment, Yushan Island has also collaborated with more than 10 universities in the country in a pilot project on rural vitalization.

University students came to the island, participating in a slew of projects to improve the island's infrastructure and enrich tourism resources, such as developing souvenirs and designing packaging for local specialties.

The island, which is no more than 30 square kilometers and with only a few thousand residents, received more than 180,000 tourists last year.

The profound changes have also attracted youths to return to their hometown on the island and set up their own businesses. Wang Qi is one of them. In 2019, she left a well-paid job in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, to become a goatherd on the island.

Wang's goat-raising business has grown hugely in recent years. Since starting with just nine goats, she now has 800.

Wang and her family also set up a goat farming cooperative to help villagers increase their income by raising and selling goats on commission. Up to 18 households have signed up for the cooperative and the average annual dividend income per person at the cooperatives hits 9,000 yuan ($1,331).

"When I was a child, I always wanted to escape from this place. I never expected to return to pursue my dream," says Wang.

"Ecological conservation, tourism and marine resources development, and talent inflow will make the island more prosperous and beautiful," says Chen Hao, head of Yushan township.

Xinhua