Peach blossoms bring wealth to villagers in Nyingchi, SW China's Xizang

In spring, Nyingchi city in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region transforms into a wondrous sea of peach blossoms.

Peach blossoms have turned Nyingchi into a popular tourist destination, where tourists can simultaneously appreciate the beautiful scenery of snow-capped mountains and peach blossoms, bringing prosperity to villagers in the city.

Photo shows the beautiful scenery of peach blossoms in Suosong village, Nyingchi city of southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region and snow-capped Mount Namjagbarwa in the distance. (Photo/Ma Chunlin)

Suosong village, sitting on the edge of the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon and facing the beautiful snow-capped Mount Namjagbarwa, is home to numerous wild peach trees.

Despite the unique natural conditions, residents in the village once mainly made a living by farming and collecting matsutake and caterpillar fungi due to poor transportation, said Jigme Dorje, a 43-year-old villager in Suosong village.

To improve the villagers' living and working conditions, the local government built a paved road and a bridge over the Yarlung Zangbo River. Since then, Suosong village has attracted throngs of visitors.

Jigme Dorje sensed business opportunities from tourists and turned one room of his home into a B&B room about seven to eight years ago. As more tourists flocked to the village, his B&B room couldn't meet the demand.

In 2017, he left the village and learned how to operate a B&B hotel. He then decided to build a B&B hotel, but lacked the money.

Thanks to the local government's policies which support the development of rural tourism, including a loan for B&B hotels, Jigme Dorje built a B&B hotel with 33 rooms in the same year and hired a professional to manage the hotel.

"My B&B hotel's business was brisk in the first half of this year, with revenues exceeding 700,000 yuan ($97,450)," he said.

A village official shoots a video to showcase the new vitality of Gala village in Nyingchi city, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. (People's Daily Overseas Edition/Xu Yuyao)

Today, almost all more than 30 households in Suosong village run B&B businesses.

In recent years, Nyingchi has prioritized the development of the culture and tourism sectors, and has made particular efforts to develop the B&B industry in Susong village. Many B&B brands have businesses in the village, driving the development of the local B&B industry and offering job opportunities to villagers.

Gala village in Nyingchi, located near the National Highway 318 (G318) from southwest China's Sichuan Province to Xizang, is also renowned for its peach blossoms. Thanks to a logging ban, wild peach trees in the village have been well protected. But in the past, the locals didn't realize that the peach trees and flowers could be a resource to develop tourism and generate wealth.

Gala village started holding a peach blossom culture festival in 2002. In recent years, the village has been hosting Nyingchi's peach blossom tourism and culture festival.

Photo shows Cuogao village located near Basum Lake, a national 5A tourist attraction, in Nyingchi city, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. (Photo courtesy of the villagers' committee of Cuogao village)

During this year's peach blossom tourism and culture festival, the village's tourism revenue exceeded 4 million yuan, accounting for about half of its total income.

Located near Basum Lake, a national 5A tourist attraction, Cuogao is a national historical and cultural village in Gongbo'Gyamda county of Nyingchi.

Leveraging Cuogao village's rich tourism resources, the county decided to develop rural tourism in the village five years ago.

The county built and upgraded roads to Cuogao village, relocated villagers to a resettlement community to protect its cultural and tourism resources, and rented villagers' idle rooms out to a tourism enterprise to run a B&B business.

Tenzin Dargye, head of Cuogao village's resident working team, said the village has over 130 B&B rooms. Villagers can receive dividends from the tourism company, and some of them work at the company.

Tourists pose for photos under peach blossoms in Gala village, Nyingchi city, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. (People's Daily Overseas Edition/Xu Yuyao)

Bazhen, a resident of Cuogao village, rents three rooms out to the tourism company and receives an annual rent of over 20,000 yuan. "I work at the company and earn a monthly salary of more than 4,000 yuan. And my total annual income reaches 70,000 yuan to 80,000 yuan," Bazhen said.

According to Tenzin Dargye, the company's house rental increases the yearly income of each household in the village by an average of more than 30,000 yuan.

In Nyingchi, more and more villages like Suosong, Gala, and Cuogao have protected the environment and developed rural tourism, attracting an increasing number of tourists.