Man in late 40s finds new success in business

"We earn about 50,000 to 60,000 yuan per month and the number is still increasing," Lu added.

Lu said the success of his restaurant and homestay business has relied heavily on the local government's promotion of nature-based tourism.

Since 2004, the government in Changshui has rolled out a series of measures to protect the environment, including investing about 50 million yuan ($7.25 million) to renovate public restrooms, parking lots and many other forms of infrastructure.

"It was a different landscape before 2004. You could barely see trees in the village or surrounding areas, but only bushes and shrubs because local villagers bet on cutting trees and selling them to make a living," said Yu Diewen, an official with Changshui village.

Lu's family was among the first group of people to answer the government's call for environmental protection. "A good environment can bring us much more than money from cutting trees and will benefit multiple generations," Lu said.