Rural getaway

The local government has invested 21 million yuan ($3 million) to improve infrastructure and sewage disposal. The village also invested 1.27 million yuan in land consolidation and building homestays. The plan attracted 27 enterprises to invest 79.5 million yuan to bring in more business to the village.

After several years' development, the village now has 37 cultural businesses, including bookstores, intangible cultural heritage inheritors' studios, yarn-dye workshops and homestays. "They not only attract many visitors but also improve many local people's lives," He says.

Some local people who had left the village for jobs are now returning to work with cultural-businesses startups, He adds.

After hearing Gaohuai's plan to develop cultural and creative businesses, native Guan Yong, who had worked as a hairdresser in Deyang city for 21 years, returned to his hometown and opened a cafe in 2018.

"When I was young, I wanted to leave my hometown since it was too poor and lacked infrastructure, and we lived in dilapidated houses," Guan recalls.

When Guan graduated from junior high school at age 19 in 1997, he left for the city.

A few years ago, Guan noticed Gaohuai was working to develop cultural businesses.

"Some of Gaohuai's cultural businesses are being well managed, with government support, so I believed returning home to start a business would be a reliable option for me."

Guan received a 10,000 yuan government grant for his cafe, and some training on making coffee, arranging flowers and running a homestay. He invested 1.8 million yuan to build a cafe on his family's land and decorated it along with his wife, Liu Xuemei.

Liu says the cafe didn't make much money at first. But now it brings in over 300,000 yuan a year. There's hardly an empty seat during the Spring Festival and National Day holidays.