On August 9, after an autumn rain, the heat of summer was slightly reduced, and the villages in the mountains in western Beijing became cooler.
Although it is not a weekend, Han Yongcong, the owner of the homestay who is still in the summer vacation, is also busier than usual. The phone calls for room reservations are continuous, and the affairs in the small courtyards are continuous.
Han Yongcong's B&B is located in Cuandixia Village, Zhaitang Town, Mentougou District, Beijing. The ancient village is built on the mountain, and the winding stone road connects traditional courtyard houses.
The walls are covered with bluestone, and the roof is covered with grey tiles. Every courtyard has been swept clean, and traditional handicrafts such as lanterns and oil-paper umbrellas are hung in the courtyard.
Young people shuttle between the courtyards and feel the style of this mountain village that has been in the past for hundreds of years but still has a modern flavor.
From building to change the withered ancient village
Cuandixia Village is undoubtedly one of the most well-known villages in Beijing. This ancient village with a history of more than 400 years in the Ming and Qing Dynasties began to develop tourism as early as the 1990s, and has gradually become one of the popular scenic spots in the suburbs of Beijing.
Han Yongcong, who was born and raised in Cuandixia, told reporters that the earliest farmhouse in Cuandixia started business in 1993, and after that, the village of Cuandixia began to be known to people outside the mountains.
The villagers here also get higher income than other villages.
But the development of tourism has not really changed the village.
Like other villages, young people go out from generation to generation, and only regard this place as a "hometown" that they only return for a vacation.
Han Yongcong is also one of the young people who ran away. For a long time, he has been working in a travel agency. He has traveled all over the country and has seen many scenic villages. He always felt that the tourism industry under Cuan could not really support a prosperity and revitalization. village.
Compared with Cuandixia, the neighboring village of Huangling West is even more desolate.
When Wang Shuai, who was born in Mentougou City, first came to Huangling West Village, there were only a few dozen households left in the village, almost all of them left-behind elderly people and women.
The opportunity for change began in 2017, when Beijing issued the "Beijing Urban Master Plan (2016-2035)", which proposed to build a historical and cultural tourism and leisure area with characteristics of western Beijing in Mentougou.
Subsequently, Mentougou formulated a series of development plans and policies in accordance with the principles of scientific planning, protection of features, inheritance of cultural context, improvement of people's livelihood, organic renewal, and appropriate utilization.
Among them, the ancient villages and ancient buildings almost all over the region are undoubtedly the most important resources.
Both Han Yongcong and Wang Shuai saw the opportunity of rural revitalization. In that year, they both went to the village, starting from the hundreds of years of construction in the village, and embarked on the road of changing the village.
The revitalization of ancient villages depends on the people who have lived here for generations
How to make use of the ancient villages is a challenge for Han Yongcong and all those who are interested in rural construction.
Before returning to the village, Han Yongcong had seen a lot of homestays in the south, and he wanted to transform the farmhouses in the village into high-end boutique homestays, "We received a lot of help from the government, but the government also set a bottom line for us, repairing the old as the old, Activated in protection."
"How can the old houses be renovated so that the original rigidity can become agile and adapt to the habits of modern young people?" Wang Shuai said that many houses have been unoccupied for a long time, and the renovation is a big project.
Wang Shuai initially rented seven or eight yards, and it took 20 months to renovate the first batch.
To solve the problem of protection and activation, we cannot rely on designers alone. Wang Shuai explained that ancient villages have their own living traditions, history and culture, and these are precisely the best resources.
Foreign designers can design the house beautifully, but it is difficult to really incorporate the local characteristics.
"I still have to rely on myself and the people who have lived here for generations." Han Yongcong said.
Left-behind people find jobs at home
On October 1, 2018, Wang Shuai's homestay in Huangling West Village officially opened.
Under Cuan, Han Yongcong's first homestay also opened.
The traditional ancient villages in the deep mountains, with hundreds of years of continuous northern rural life, have attracted many tourists. "Holidays are almost always full, and the non-holiday traffic is also more than previously expected, especially this one. In the past few years, tourism in the suburbs of Beijing has been very popular, and the boarding rate can usually be maintained at 60%." Wang Shuai said.
Wang Shuai’s seven or eight courtyards employ more than ten residents of the village to work as cleaning, cooks, and homestay housekeepers. Each person earns 3,000 to 4,000 yuan per month.
Most of them are left-behind elderly people and women in the village. They can get employment opportunities without leaving the village, which was difficult to achieve in the past.
In Han Yongcong's opinion, this is a little easier than running a farmhouse by yourself. "In the past few years, the farmers who opened farmhouses were basically the elderly. Just like my father, who was in his 70s, he was still running farmhouses at that time. Come to them. It is said that the pressure of operation is quite high. When there are many customers, you are anxious because your physical strength cannot keep up with the demand for service; when there are no customers, you are also anxious because the operating cost is not low. Therefore, it was actually difficult for the farmhouse at that time to continue. already."
The new homestay has also brought inspiration to other villagers, not only stable employment and income, but also changes in business philosophy, "After we finished the renovation, quite a few people began to learn, how to provide standardized services, and how to Give guests a better experience. For example, bed linen and other supplies must be changed one by one." Han Yongcong said.
Rural revitalization continues to expand
Compared with Cuandixia, Weizishui Village in Yanqi Town, Mentougou started a little later.
Weizishui Village is also an ancient village, built nearly 600 years ago.
There are 46 courtyard houses in Ming and Qing Dynasties in the village, with blue, white and gray as the main colors. No powder is applied, and the style is simple and elegant. The ecology of the village is kept intact, and cultural activities are abundant. Catalogue of cultural heritage.
In recent years, Weizishui Village, through cooperation with enterprises, relying on natural endowments and traditional culture, on the basis of retaining the ancient architectural style, has transformed several idle houses into "Sangu Weilu" small homestays, which are now well-known homestays in the suburbs of Beijing. .
However, unlike other ancient villages that develop homestays, Yanchi Town has planned a special development path for it - the health care industry.
The relevant person in charge of Yanchi Town said, "In Weizishui Village and many other villages, long-term rental industries for citizens are currently being planned and constructed. They are also ancient village dwellings, which do not aim at short-term rental and tourism, but through Create a rich rural business format and attract urban residents to live and live here for a long time.”
"Our village is very rich in natural resources, and there are many kinds of special agricultural products, and there are large terraced fields on the mountain. Living here, you can not only experience the traditional culture condensed by the ancient villages, but also enjoy the beautiful scenery and feel the close-up experience. The charm of farming is a good place for health care," said Gao Yanhui, secretary of the Party branch of Weizishui Village.
Since 2018, Mentougou District has invested a total of 170 million yuan in agriculture-related funds, successfully created 12 beautiful villages, and built two ecological ditch areas, "Yanchi Town Grange" and "Wangping Town Ancient Road Farming". Many ancient villages have ushered in. Development Opportunities.
At the same time, in order to promote the revitalization and utilization of ancient villages, Mentougou District has successively issued the "Measures for Supporting "Mentougou Small Courtyards" Boutique Homestays", "Guiding Opinions on Strengthening the Protection and Development of Traditional Villages in Mentougou District", and "One Village, One Look, Villages Create a Village Style and Overall Control Improvement" Action Plan (Trial)" and "Implementation Rules for the Protection, Development and Utilization of Cultural Heritage Buildings", etc., have compiled all (14) traditional village protection and development plans, and established a multi-dimensional, A multi-element protection system has formed a "one picture" for the revitalization and utilization of ancient villages in the whole region, so that traditional ancient villages can truly become the most important assistance and resources for rural revitalization.
Beijing News reporter Zhou Huaizong