(Into the Chinese countryside) The integration of agriculture, culture and tourism helps the ancient Gelao village in Guizhou to change its look

　　China News Service, Wuchuan, Guizhou, April 5th: The integration of agriculture, culture and tourism helps the ancient Gelao village in Guizhou change its look

　　China News Service reporter Qu Honglun

　　The annual series of activities of the Gelao people's ancestor worship ceremony were held from the 4th to the 5th at Longtan Ancient Village, Daping Street, Wuchuan Gelao and Miao Autonomous County, Zunyi City, Guizhou Province.

　　Shen Fujin, the old man of Longtan Ancient Village, told the China News Service reporter that the sacrificial ceremony is the most solemn day in the village. On this day, the Gelao people from all over China and tourists from home and abroad will gather here, blow horns and dance. Dedicated to the ancestors of the Gelao people.

On April 5, the Gelao people held a ceremony to worship their ancestors. Photo by China News Service reporter Qu Honglun

　　It is understood that Longtan Ancient Village has a history of more than 700 years and consists of three natural villages: Qianzhai, Zhongzhai and Houzhai. It is the best-preserved ethnic village of the Gelao people.

　　Longtan Ancient Village is surrounded by mountains on three sides and faces a pond on one side. The village is paved with stone slabs, built with stone walls and connected by stone alleys. The reporter walked around the village and looked around. The village was deep and simple, with stone walls and stone alleys that were rugged and winding, like a maze.

　　Shen Jiangbo, Secretary of the Party Branch of Longtan Village, introduced that Longtan Ancient Villages are separated and connected by stone roads. The buildings in each village are relatively concentrated. The site selection is based on the terrain, and the cultivated land and residential land are separated, forming a complement of residential buildings and pastoral scenery. scene.

On April 4, Longtan Ancient Village was paved with stone slabs, built with stone walls, and connected with stone alleys. Photo by China News Service reporter Qu Honglun

　　But the ancient Longtan Village was not like this. More than ten years ago, the ancient village was little known, and the local government built the Gelao Origin Scenic Area (Longtan Ancient Village and Jiutianmu Stone Scenic Area) around it. With the continuous improvement of infrastructure, Guzhai has entered the tourism era, and villagers have enjoyed "tourism rice" by opening farmhouses and B&Bs.

　　Longtan Ancient Village has also attracted more and more attention from the outside world because of its distinctive Gelao culture, and has been awarded titles such as "China's Famous Historical and Cultural Village".

　　In recent years, Longtan Ancient Village has vigorously developed Gelao ethnic cultural tourism and increased villagers' income by relying on the model of "deep integrated development of culture, business and tourism with Gelao cultural gene representation + tourism experience upgrade + regional agricultural specialty products."

On April 4, tourists watched the production of "crisp food" at the Gelao specialty food workshop in Longtan Ancient Village. Photo by China News Service reporter Qu Honglun

　　As of March 2024, Longtan Ancient Village has opened 21 farmhouses, 6 B&Bs, 5 Gelao clothing experience centers, and 2 children's parent-child paradises. At the same time, more than 1,000 acres of modern agriculture integrating planting, picking, and research have been developed.

　　Shen Jiangbo said: “In conjunction with the development of cultural tourism, Longtan Ancient Village actively explores and protects folk art with Gelao ethnic characteristics, and uses traditional festivals and slack seasons to carry out intangible inheritance exhibitions, new food festivals and other activities to attract tourists and promote Tourism development.”

　　At present, Longtan Ancient Village has formed a new rural tourism development format that integrates leisure and ecological sightseeing, study, cultural experience, food check-in and other functions.

　　"In 2023, Guzhai also completed the construction of Gelao specialty food workshops, cinnabar handicrafts workshops, printing, dyeing and papermaking workshops and other cultural and tourism projects." Shen Jiangbo said that in recent years, through the integrated development of agriculture, culture and tourism, the villagers of Longtan Guzhai have increased their income It has been rising steadily year by year. In the first quarter of 2024, Longtan Ancient Village Scenic Area received 100,000 tourists, with a comprehensive tourism revenue of more than 1.8 million yuan (RMB, the same below).

　　Shen Fujin runs a farmhouse in Longtan Ancient Village. His family now receives an average of more than 80 tourists a day and earns a monthly income of nearly 20,000 yuan. It was lunch time when the sacrificial ceremony ended, and many tourists came to his farmhouse to eat after visiting Longtan Ancient Village. After finishing the sacrificial work, Shen Fujin returned home to help greet the guests. (over)