Homing in on success

In recent years, red tourism has taken off in China. Curious, nostalgic tourists want to revisit sites where major historical events happened and understand the spirit of previous generations. The village, as the hometown of general Xu Shiyou, who joined the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the War of Liberation (1946-49), also saw rising tourism, especially as the country is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China this year.

Han is the one of the first to have sniffed a business opportunity. In April 2017, after learning his hometown was developing its tourism, he resigned from a shipbuilding factory in South Korea and opened the first homestay in the village after renovating the family's old residence.

"To my surprise, it turned out the number of tourists was so large that I had to refuse 60 to 70 percent of requests," Han says.

Ten days ahead of May 1, Han's bed-and-breakfast was booked up for the five-day holiday. Three rooms and a yard cost 698 yuan ($108) per night during peak season. Han works as boss, waiter, cleaner, cook and tour guide. His wife sells local specialties such as fermented bean curd and honey. Revenue from the business reached more than 30,000 yuan from January to April.