Tradition gives villagers a head start

Huangluo village near the Longji rice terraces in Guilin, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, is well known for the dramatically long hair of its female Yao ethnic group residents.

As it is believed that long hair brings prosperity, a long life and good fortune, the women maintain the tradition of keeping their hair long, and only cut it once in their lifetime when they are 18 years old.

Unmarried women tuck their hair into a headscarf, while married women favor a wrapped-up style with a large bun at the front.

Last year, more than 250 women from the village created the longest hair combing chain, setting a new Guinness World Record title to celebrate their beautiful culture.

Known as the "longhair village", Huangluo has spectacular terraced fields, Yao ethnic culture and natural scenery to boost its rural tourist appeal.

Besides the hair ritual, craftsmanship of local embroidery is also remarkable, and was included on the national-level intangible cultural heritage list in 2014.

Thanks to its rich ethnic culture and beautiful landscapes, Huangluo has become a tourist attraction. It has a theater, where residents don traditional costumes and perform folk songs and dances, and a museum to demonstrate how the women wash and coif their hair.

Between January and June, the village had received about 274,800 tourists, with estimated tourism consumption reaching 4.12 million yuan ($566,284).