CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Monday, August 31, 2020 | 17 LIFE

Hawthorn Courtyard homestays in Beijing’s Yanqing district attract visitors all year round with varied views and a pastoral charm. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY A vibrant village

A small settlement in rural Beijing is facing a brighter future through new tourism initiatives, Yang Feiyue reports.

village off the beaten track under the collective name, Haw­ wherever we want,” Shi says. in northwestern Beijing’s thorn Courtyard, and a growing The village government has also Yanqing district is generat­ number of travelers are visiting. worked with tourism cooperatives ing prosperity through Tourists flock to the village in May to help locals use e­commerce plat­ tourism.A when the hawthorn trees blossom, forms to sell their produce. Xiahujiao offers a quiet and and in August and September when “The introduction of the home­ secluded rural setting, and pictur­ the red fruits ripen. stays has boosted farming,” Zhang esque mountain and river views The village is also close to one of says. about an hour’s drive from down­ the “most beautiful roads in Beijing”, “Villagers who work with the town Yanqing. the Baili Landscape Gallery. Travel­ tourism cooperative have learned The settlement is surrounded by ers can cycle or drive along the well­ how to grow organic fruit and vege­ mountains on three sides and is paved, tree­lined paths and visit the tables.” home to about 60 households. Silicified Wood National Geological Villager Liang Yu’e has started Locals used to rely on corn and Park and Dishui Lake. growing millet on her farmland yellow­rice farming. Although the “hawthorn home­ since the new sales channel opened. “Our village didn’t have practical­ stays” are pricy, at about 2,000 yuan She can make over 10,000 yuan a ly anything but old houses and fresh ($288) a night, they’re fully booked year from her crops. air,” says Zhang Youwang, who used during weekends and holidays. And villagers are, in turn, using to be a Xiahujiao official and now Guests typically must book rooms their expendable income to travel. works as head of the village’s folk­ about two weeks in advance during “Buses passing the village were Above: A family enjoy tea break tourism cooperative. peak seasons, Zhang says. mostly empty before,” village com­ at a homestay in Yanqing dis­ The local government began to Bookings for the current period mittee member Zhang Liqiang says. trict. Right: Travelers have local explore tourism opportunities and have exceeded those of last year, as “Now, every one of them is full dried vegetable hotpot. An established the cooperative in 2015. Beijing has brought COVID­19 when the farm work isn’t busy.” autumn scene of the Baili Land­ Yanqing district’s culture and under control. Xiahujiao will continue to scape Gallery in tourism bureau helped build a Tourism has helped all of the 28 improve the environment, and will Yanqing. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY financing platform for the coopera­ households to increase their develop hiking lanes, pavilions, tive and offered loan­interest subsi­ incomes. bathing facilities and public toilets, dies. The homestays have generated an village official Shi Yonggang says. A tourism­industry fund has been annual tourism revenue of about “People come here to enjoy the established to improve infrastruc­ 400,000 yuan and provide jobs for peacefulness and good air. We must ture, and a homestay­service train­ more than 20 locals. Villagers can protect these.” ing facility opened in 2017. also make money by renting out As demand for high­end rural Courtyard­style homestays have their unused houses. tourism has grown in recent years, People come here to been built on previously vacant Zhang Yunping became a cook Yanqing has focused on homestay land. and cleaner when Hawthorn Court­ development in a bid to realize enjoy the They retain the original wooden yard opened. Her husband, Shi President Xi Jinping’s concept that peacefulness and roof­and­beam structures and Lianshan, also does handiwork and “lucid waters and lush mountains evoke a pastoral charm along with transports goods at the tourism cen­ are invaluable assets”, says Zheng good air. We must hawthorn trees, short walls and ter. Aijuan, deputy director of Yanqing’s protect these.” floor­to­ceiling windows. The They can earn 7,000 yuan a “We only ate cold lunches pre­ and enjoy hot meals.” culture and tourism bureau. rooms’ interiors feature modern fur­ month for their work, plus 8,000 pared in the morning when we The couple spent 100,000 yuan on Shi Yonggang, Xiahujiao village niture and home appliances. yuan in dividends from the tourism worked away from home,” Shi says. a truck last year. Contact the writer at official Twelve homestays have been built cooperative. “It’s good to work so close to home “It’s very convenient for us to go [email protected]

Briefly

NCPA celebrates Zhang Yimou’s Peking an exhibition at the National Muse­ Beethoven’s birth Opera film to be um of China in Beijing, brings together hundreds of objects repre­ anniversary screened senting Shandong’s diverse folk arts and dynamic handicrafts. Displays include farming implements, table­ ware, embroidery and children’s Exhibition focuses on toys. The exhibits convey the wis­ dom of building a harmonious rela­ poverty alleviation tionship with nature. The late 20th­century author and China has spent decades working to 9 am­5 pm, closed on Mondays. 16 scholar Shen Congwen developed an alleviate poverty — with incredible East Chang’an Avenue, Dongcheng authority on the study of ancient Chi­ success. And generations of artists district, Beijing. 010­6511­6400. nese attire. He once donated four vin­ The Peking Opera film, You And have created works that depict these tage Tibetan thangka paintings from Me, will be screened at the Opera efforts. Dozens of these pieces are on Portraits of piety his own collection to the Central Acad­ Conductor Lyu Jia will lead the Chi­ House of the National Center for show at the National Art Museum of emy of Arts and Design, which are na NCPA Orchestra to perform a the Performing Arts. China in Beijing until Oct 11. Most now in the collection of the Tsinghua concert featuring pieces by Beetho­ Set against the backdrop of the come from its collection. More than University Art Museum. They’re cur­ ven, including The Ruins of Athens, Spring and Autumn Period (770­ 500 works created over seven dec­ rently on show at Auspicious Land, an Symphony No 8 in F Major, Op 93, 476 BC), the production tells the ades are on display in the venue’s 17 exhibition of Tibetan Buddhist paint­ and Symphony No 2 in D Major, Op story of Lord Zheng putting aside halls and outdoor spaces. Also on ings and sculptures that’s running 36. The concert celebrates the family differences to join forces show are intangible cultural heri­ through Oct 25. It displays 38 thangka 250th anniversary of the compos­ with his mother. tage items from remote and impov­ paintings from the Tsinghua Universi­ er’s birth. Lyu was appointed as the Combing the techniques of tradi­ erished communities. The show ty Art Museum’s roughly 13,000 chief conductor and artistic direct­ tional Peking Opera, a 200­year­ reviews efforts to improve agricul­ works. The scrolls are displayed in jux­ or of opera at the National Center old genre that incorporates tural production, industrial con­ taposition with dozens of gilt­bronze for the Performing Arts in 2012. different art forms like singing, struction, medical care, education Tibetan Buddhist statues on loan from The China NCPA Orchestra is the dancing, acrobatics and martial and natural­disaster relief, as well as Folk art exhibition the Capital Museum in Beijing. 9 am­5 pm, closed on Mondays, until resident orchestra of the National arts, the film, directed by Zhang the recent fight to prevent the delivers nostalgia Center for the Performing Arts, Yimou, also features multimedia spread of COVID­19 in the country­ Oct 25. Online reservation needed. which was founded in 2010. design elements. side Shandong province’s long history as Tsinghua University, 1 Qinghuayu­ 7:30 pm, Sept 4 and 5. Concert Hall 2 pm, Sept 5. Opera House of Nation­ 9 am­5 pm, closed on Mondays, an agricultural hub has inspired art an, Haidian district, Beijing. of NCPA, 2 West Chang’an Avenue, al Center for the Performing Arts, 2 through Oct 11. Online reservation and culture, especially folk art, that 010­6278­5903. Xicheng district, Beijing. West Chang’an Avenue, Xicheng dis­ needed. 1 Wusi Dajie, Dongcheng continues to influence people’s lives 010­6655­0000. trict, Beijing. 010­6655­0000. district. Beijing. 010­6400­6326. and aesthetics. Evoking Nostalgia, CHINA DAILY