Historic tree, agritourism, crafts boost quake-hit Sichuan villages

Development through agritourism

Located in Shifang city, Chengdong village benefits its villagers by planting fruit trees, managing agritourism and making wines.

"In our village, villagers plant cherry blossoms, grapes and strawberries in the fields. For example, there are 50 acres (3.3 hectares) of strawberries at the village. To plant the strawberries, more than 100 villagers are employed. They could earn 80 to 100 yuan each day," said Wu Zhaocai, who is responsible for marketing and a co-founder of a plantation in the village.

"Also, the village often holds some events inviting people to pick strawberries and grapes in the field, while some grapes are used to make wine. So the three industries complement each other at the village," said Wu.

The fruit-picking activities draw many people in neighboring counties and cities to spend weekends at the village.

So far, there have been 300,000 visitors from Chengdu, Deyang and Mianyang cities, increasing local per capita income by more than 500 yuan.

As for the winemaking business, Wu plans to expand the existing wine chateau.

"Nowadays, the wines made at my plantation are sold solely though our relatives and friends, so they have not been sold at stores or online. We would like to make more wines and sell them in more channels to have bigger revenue," said Wu.