【Commentary】Recently, the launching ceremony of the first rural revitalization cultural festival in Yufeng District, Liuzhou City, Guangxi Province was held in Baisha Town, Liuzhou City. Rushing to sing, watching intangible cultural heritage, tasting food... A variety of activities are carried out here, and Baisha Old Street is bustling with people, recreating the scene of the former commercial port and the endless flow of merchants.

【Commentary】Baisha Ancient Town, which was built in the Qing Dynasty, was once a prosperous and lively ancient commercial port. With the passage of time, the ancient buildings on Baisha Old Street have fallen into disrepair, and many of them are only ruins, which are in urgent need of repair and protection. Green brick and gray tile wooden plank doors, alleys and courtyard stone roads... How to retain homesickness, continue the historical context of the ancient town, and give the new era connotation to activate and utilize has become a difficult problem in front of this thousand-year-old town.

【During the same period】Baisha Town Party Secretary Guo Liufang

We have an old street in Baisha Town is a building of the Qing Dynasty, (old street) is also a very important carrier to reflect our Baisha cultural heritage, based on the development of our future industry, at the same time we also focus on the people's expectations, we repair the old street as old, but also (the old street) as a core area for our tourism development.

【Commentary】In 2022, Yufeng District will carry out a comprehensive improvement project for the living environment in Baisha Market Town, adhering to the concept of "repairing the old as the old", repairing the original buildings of Baisha Old Street, completing the transformation of 108 houses, and creating viewing platforms, garden landscapes, dock parking lots, visitor centers, etc., to enrich the spare time life of residents and tourists.

【Commentary】The renovated Baisha Ancient Town not only attracts people from surrounding villages and towns to come to gather, but also a large number of tourists come from the city to "check in". Relying on the rural tourism brand of "Millennium Ancient Town, Luoyun Baisha Town", Baisha Town integrates the development models of "scenic spot + camping" and "village + camp" to build camping bases such as Cannon Fortress Ping and Baisha Wharf, realizing the transformation from "flowing people" in wasteland to "retaining people" in beautiful scenery.

【Commentary】In February this year, camping enthusiast Gu Fengning drove dozens of kilometers from Liuzhou City to camp here from the Internet to the camping base of Cannon Base. Green mountains and blue water surround the village, this beauty is in line with all his imagination of the camping base. Since then, Gu Fengning would bring a tent to stay for two days every weekend.

【During the same period】Camping enthusiast Gu Fengning

Now Liuzhou is more "fire", there are too many people who come to Liuzhou to travel, we choose to come out camping, generally come on Saturday, and then go back on Sunday, (ingredients) are brought by themselves, if not enough, they will choose to drive to the town, buy some food, buy some powder back to make breakfast, lunch can be.

Baisha Ancient Town not only "stays" tourists, but also "stays" more and more young entrepreneurs. "Post-80s" Jia Yanzhi smelled business opportunities, so she quit her job in a real estate company and chose to run a sugar water shop in Baisha Ancient Town. Jia Yanzhi introduced that tourists from all over the world wander around the ancient town every day, and from time to time customers enter the store to taste sugar water, and the daily revenue is hundreds of yuan (RMB).

【During the same period】Baisha Ancient Town entrepreneur Jia Yanzhi

Our old street has snacks, or you can take pictures here, more leisurely, and there is a river under our white sand (old street), it has a beach to camp, now young people like camping, so here (opening a store) is still relatively good, there are tourists one after another, young people, some elderly tourists have.

【Commentary】As Baisha Ancient Town has become a "net celebrity" check-in point, local people have found that they not only live in "scenic spots", but also can eat "tourist rice" at their doorstep in the future. In March this year, Baisha Town developed eco-agricultural tourism by forming cooperatives and investing in shares.

At present, Baisha Town has developed 5 camping bases, providing camping equipment rental, catering services, supporting infrastructure such as water and electricity, parking lots, and arranging personnel to patrol at night. The excellent service and beautiful environment attract many people to camp here. The booming "camping economy" provides many jobs for villagers, and also drives the sales of local agricultural and sideline products.

【Commentary】Since the beginning of spring in 2023, Liuzhou City has become a tourist check-in place because of the "popularity" of snail powder. At present, Baisha Town takes snail powder raw materials as the leading industry, and at the same time actively develops the cultural tourism industry, taking the camping base as the base to tap the characteristic industries and characteristic cultures of snail powder raw materials, and integrates more elements into rural tourism.

Wei Guozheng reported from Liuzhou, Guangxi

Responsible Editor: [Lu Yan]