September 24 news: In Dingbu Village, Nanxi Town, Jinzhai County, deep in the Dabie Mountains, there is a 'Xiaqing·Canghai Sangtian' (Summer Clear·Sea and Mulberry Fields) that has been rated as one of Anhui Province's first batch of 'Wanmei Gold Medal Homestays'.

Along the smooth bluestone-paved road, small courtyards with earthen walls and black tiles line both sides. The infinity pool, mountain-view terrace, coffee shop, and bookstore, paired with green mountains and clear waters and curling kitchen smoke, have become a 'internet-famous check-in spot' pursued by city dwellers, bustling with activity on every holiday.

Adaptive Reuse: Old Street Becomes 'Internet-Famous'

The story begins with Liji Old Street in Dingbu Village, which originated in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was once an ancient post road leading to Wuhan and Henan, with more than a dozen households living on both sides. With the development of the times, young people continuously moved out of the old street, which fell into disrepair over the years, and most of the old houses became vacant, at risk of collapse at any time.

The turning point came in 2022. As Jinzhai County clarified its tourism development concept of 'one township, one homestay,' the Nanxi Silk Town Rural Revitalization Demonstration Project began implementation, and Dingbu Village underwent a transformation.

In addition to its unique landscape of mountains, waters, forests, and fields, the area has a long history of sericulture and silk culture. The Dingbu Dawang Temple, the starting point of the Lixia Uprising and a nationally protected cultural heritage site, is also located here. Nanxi Town thus clarified its approach, deciding to integrate local特色 elements such as red cultural relics, sericulture, silk, and the old street to create a rural mall complex—the 'Xiaqing·Canghai Sangtian' homestay cluster—that combines wild luxury homestays, dining, educational tours, Party building and team building, cultural academies, and stream-tracing recreation.

During renovation, Liji Old Street retained the original layout of the street, presenting a strong Wanxi architectural style. 'Repairing the old as old,' the earthen houses were demolished and rebuilt, with the salvaged bricks used for the exterior facades, fully activating and utilizing the old houses.

The old street in the Dabie Mountains 'transformed' into a 'Peach Blossom Spring' where one can 'talk about mulberry and hemp over wine.'

In July 2023, the first phase of the homestay officially opened. 'The first phase used old houses to build 24 homestays of different styles. This year, we used an abandoned village school to add 10 homestays in an old school style for the second phase. During the May Day holiday, demand exceeded supply, and they were fully booked every day,' said Guo Peng, the homestay operations manager.

Local Employment: Homeowners Become 'Butlers'

In the 'Xiangxiao' unit, local villager Yu Diqing is cleaning a guest room. For Yu Diqing, this homestay with six guest rooms has a special meaning—it was once her home, and now she is its butler.

'Because of years of neglect, the old house passed down from our ancestors was no longer suitable for living. In 2010, our whole family left the old house and moved to the town. Gradually, it became completely vacant,' Yu Diqing said, her eyes full of memories when speaking of the old house.

Yu Diqing told reporters that according to the agreement with the village, the village is responsible for renovating the old houses and leasing them to the 'Xiaqing·Canghai Sangtian' homestay for free. After 10 years, villagers can choose to continue leasing their old houses to the homestay at market prices or take them back for their own operation. Since the homestay opened, it has also driven employment for nearly 100 local villagers like Yu Diqing.

'We are the first in the county to adopt the EPCO model for construction, with the government leading investment, integrating and repairing idle resources such as collapsing houses, county-level cultural protection units, and schools, and introducing Anhui Nongdao Cultural Tourism Industry Development Co., Ltd. to participate in investment and handle design, procurement, construction, and operation,' said Shi Haijun, mayor of Nanxi Town, Jinzhai County. The homestay has attracted tourists and self-driving groups from Hefei, northern Anhui, Lu'an, and other places within the province, as well as from Hubei, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai outside the province. It has received over 35,000 tourists and generated operating income exceeding 3.2 million yuan. 'During winter and summer vacations and holidays, the occupancy rate basically reaches 100%, and on weekends it can reach about 80%. For the upcoming National Day, rooms are almost fully booked.'

In October 2023, Dingbu Village was selected for the province's first batch of beautiful and harmonious rural boutique demonstration villages. The market recognition of 'Xiaqing·Canghai Sangtian' homestay is also gradually rising, and in March this year it was rated as one of Anhui Province's first batch of 'Wanmei Gold Medal Homestays.'

Glory Restored: Weaving a New 'Silk Road' for Rural Revitalization

Xiangxiao, Xianyi, Zhiyue... the guest room names are quite elegant. In the courtyard outside each room, an old-fashioned loom is placed. This is a microcosm of the local sericulture industry's development.

In Jinzhai County, the sericulture industry once had a glorious history. The 'Baishahe cocoon silk, Bijia Mountain silkworm eggs, Wujiadian silk tents' mentioned by the elderly are a reflection of the past prosperity of the industry.

At its peak, Jinzhai had over 200,000 mu of mulberry fields, raised 270,000 sheets of silkworms annually, and produced over 8,000 tons of cocoons per year. In Nanxi Town, people have always had a tradition of mulberry planting and silkworm rearing. It once ranked first among all townships in the province in cocoon production for 27 consecutive years, truly earning the title of 'Silk Town.'

In the late 1990s, the sericulture industry in Jinzhai County gradually declined. In recent years, the Lu'an Municipal Party Committee and Government have emphasized the development of the sericulture industry. Jinzhai County proposed developing the sericulture industry in six townships including Nanxi, building standardized high-quality mulberry fields, renovating or building new silkworm rearing sheds, promoting co-rearing of young silkworms, and accelerating the upgrading of silkworm seed farms. The sericulture industry is taking off once again. Nanxi Town is vigorously developing characteristic agriculture led by the sericulture industry. The whole village has planted 400 mu of mulberry, raises 300 sheets of silkworms annually, with an output value of 800,000 yuan.

Turning the local mulberry, cocoon, and silk advantage industry into a 'specialty card,' Dingbu Village is actively planning integrated development of the three industries, offering tourists mulberry picking, sericulture educational tours, silk experiences, and more, creating a characteristic rural tourism destination that integrates dining, accommodation, travel, entertainment, and shopping.

While various places are striving to create rural tourism destinations, Nanxi Town is carefully playing its 'existing cards,' deeply integrating the development of tourism around the homestay with the protection and activation of cultural relic resources, activating the village's internal driving force, and adhering to 'light intervention, small entry points,' thereby driving tourism across Jinzhai and comprehensively promoting rural revitalization.