(Yicai) July 17 -- Like other villages nearby, Kang in China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has seen household incomes soar after tapping into the demand for rural tourism thanks to the local area’s many attractions.

Located in the Age township of Kuqa city, next to the Duku highway in Aksu prefecture, Kang has been developing a homestay business after revamping every village house and moving their previous occupants into spacious and convenient new homes, resident Nuryam Ruzi told Yicai.

She owns a number of these homestay properties and grows flowers and vegetables in their yards, earning about CNY20,000 (USD2,750) a year during the June to October tourist season.

Several other villages within Kuqa’s borders have also been lifted out of poverty and become prosperous thanks to rural tourism. Kuqa welcomed about 3.23 million visitors in the six months through June, up 30 percent from a year ago, while its tourism-related revenue jumped 28 percent to about CNY1.7 billion (USD228.9 million).

Ahmat Mijit, who also lives in Kang, works as a truck driver for a nearby coking coal company and earns more than CNY10,000 (USD1,375) a month. His wife runs a homestay and also makes over CNY10,000 in the tourist season, he said, noting that they have been able to buy a car. Almost every household in the village owns one. 

Kang has 16 homestays, generating income of about CNY3,000 (USD413) each a month. The village also has three large farms, many small restaurants, and 40 greenhouses growing vegetables. 

Tourism developers have invested CNY30 million (USD4.1 million) to build the Jiuyanquan scenic wetlands of Kang, encouraging villagers to lay on various services, including horse and camel rides, barbecues, boating, and specialty catering. Since trial operations began on June 1, the attraction has created about 120 jobs.

Ruzi prepares to welcome guests with sliced watermelon.

Ruzi fixes up a bed in one of her homestays.

Tourists take to horseback in the wetlands.

Visitors take photos of a lantern display.

Editor: Martin Kadiev