The peak of popularity

A business environment

The boom in tourism has brought a steady flow of customers who want to stay in the village's traditional stilted buildings and experience the local ethnic culture. Yang enjoys rubbing shoulders with tourists from all walks of life, learning about the world beyond the remote mountain area.

"The whole village has seen great changes due to tourism, and our lives have changed, too. We lead a comfortable life and can stay with our families," she says.

Although she has traveled to other cities, such as Shanghai, for leisure, she finds that her mountainous home has a magnetic pull.

When she was 17, her parents opened a small food stall halfway up the mountain. From the family's home, she would walk for four hours, carrying ingredients to the stall. At that time, there was no tarmac pathway or cable car.

Yang recalls that, before opening the homestay, the family planted rice and raised pigs, but could barely make ends meet. To supplement their income, her husband used to carry visitors up the mountain in a bamboo sedan chair, known as a huagan.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, there have been fewer tourists in recent months, so she and her husband are using the downtime to decorate their homestay.