Althoughitislateinwinter,XiankengVillageinKangheTownofHeyuanCity,GuangdongProvince,isstillfullofgreenwoodsandclearwater,wherethestreamsmurmur.Asamodelvillageunderanational-levelruraltourismprogramandoneofGuangdong's"10beautifulvillages",Xiankenghasover400yearsofhistory,andanappealingandlong-standingHakkaculture.At“YunqinHomestay”,thehomeofYeYunqin,thetwostoriesarecleanandtidy,thetworoomsonthesecondfloorhavestandardbunkbeds,andthecartoontagsandclocksonthewallmaketheroomsfullofchildishness."Inthesecondhalfof2020,afterthepandemicsituationeased,wereceivedmanystudentswhocameonaresearchandstudytrip.InOctoberalone,wereceived14batchesofstudents,atotalof280ofthem,"Yesays.Yeandhiswifeareresponsiblefortakingstudentstoexperiencefarmwork.Hishomecanhost20studentsatonce,andthethreemealscost60yuanperperson,withanother30yuanofaccommodationfees.Altogether,astudent'sdailyexpensiveislessthan100yuan.Thedevelopmentofresearchandstudytourismincreasedtheirincomeandhelpedhisfamilyovercomepoverty.ThedevelopmentofresearchandstudytourisminXiankengVillagecannotdowithouttheutmostsupportfromDongyuanBeautifulVillageKangheOperationLimitedCompany.Thepersonincharge,LaiJianbinstatesthatduringthesetrips,thecompanygathersstudentstoparticipateinaseriesofactivitiesof"cometothevillage,experienceruralcustoms,liveinruralhomes,anddofarmwork".Morespecifically,itorganizesstudentstoharvestrice,chaffitshusk,burnfirewoodanddootherpublicwelfareactivities,tohelpthestudentsappreciatetraditionalHakkaculture."Untilfouryearsago,visitingXiankengVillagewasnotthateasy,"Lairecalls.Atthetime,thevillagehadnotbuiltasphaltroad,thereweregarbageandweedseverywhere,itwasalsoimpossibletodevelopvillagetourism."Changecamefromtheprovincialprojectofcreatingnewsocialistcountrysidemodelvillagesfrompoorvillagesdesignatedbyprovincial-levelauthorities"XiaoLong,DeputyTownChiefofKangheTownstates.Now,theroadsinthevillagearewidened,oldhouseshavebeenrenovated,oldvillagesbecomemorelively,andvillagersearnmore.Whatwasonceapoorvillagebecomesahottraveldestinationforresearchandstudytourism."Wecannotdevelopruraltourismwithoutthehelpofvillagers,"saysLai.Tomobilizevillagerstoparticipateenthusiastically,XiankengVillageexploredthedevelopmentalmodelof"tenthousandhomestays"tohelplocalvillagerstoprovidefoodandaccommodation,recreationalactivitiesandotherservicestotourists.Inoneyear'stime,thevillageattractedover30,000studentsfromthePearlRiverDeltaregiontovisitandexperiencerurallife.Drivenbyresearchandstudytourism,theimpoverishedpopulationof182peoplefrom58householdsinthevillageovercamepovertybytheendof2019,andthevillageearnedacollectiveincomeofover400,000Yuan."Inordertodevelopruraltourism,marketentitiesmustparticipate.Wehavetousenewconceptsandmodels,fullyembracemarketizationtohaveabetterdevelopmentprospect."Xiaostatesfranklythattheimprovementofvillageenvironmentandthedevelopmentoftheindustryofcultureandtourismcannotbedonewithoutgovernmentfunding,innovationofthesystemsandmechanisms,andprofessionalteamsandtalents."Inthefuture,wewillfullyutilizethefinancialfundsfromthecentralandprovinciallevels,toacceleratetheenvironmentalrenovationofruralareas,createbeautifulvillagesthatareecologicallylivable,quickentheprocessofestablishingandimprovingthelong-termmanagementandprotectionmechanismsofrurallivingenvironments.Atthesametime,throughpolicyinnovationssuchassoftloansandguarantees,wewillencouragemoreruralhouseholdstoparticipateinresearchandstudytourism,letmorehouseholdsbenefitfromtheestablishmentofbeautifulvillages."ContributedbyLiHui,GuangmingDailyreporterTranslatedbyZhangJunye