Farmers enriched by tourism cooperatives

"Thanks to the tourism cooperative, our inn has received more than 50 groups of tourists since its opening during the Spring Festival, making a total income of more than 30,000 yuan ($4,725)," said He Jielin, a villager of Yuhu village, Baisha township, Yulong Naxi autonomous county.

Yuhu Tourism Cooperative was set up in 2004 with a view to promote eco-tourism and sight-seeing in the village by integrating its tourism resources. The establishment of Yuhu Tourism Cooperative enabled local abundant tourism resources to be used effectively and farmers to benefit. With the cooperative's efforts, Yuhu village saw over 70,000 tourists last year, with a tourism income of over 7.5 million yuan.

Zhang Hongying, a retiree who has given up city life for a peaceful country life in her autumn years, said, "Yuhu is in its prime, and I don't see why I should not come back."

With the broadening of the road to the village and the opening of a special bus route to the Lijiang town district, the tourism industry in Yuhu will move forward. Yuhu now receives 250 visitors per day, nearly doubling the number over the same period last year.

Edited by Zhao Qian and Emily