Progress noted near Three Gorges

In 1994, Wang Zuozhan, then 29, with his neighbors in villages along banks of the Yangtze River, moved to their new house.

Asking where their hometown is, they point to the nearby Three Gorges Dam, saying "It's in the water."

Around two decades ago, about 1,000 of Wang's neighbors moved to Xujiachong new village to make way for the construction of the dam, which locates in Yichang, Hubei province.

Wang, now Party chief of the village, several minutes' drive from the dam's scenic spot area, remembers how life changed.

Before, villagers made a living by planting rice, oranges and tea, or as migrant workers. Now, the village, their new home, has developed rural tourism, and most residents are involved in homestays, folk art or sales of specialties.

Xie Rong was one of the first to develop a homestay business. She decorates pillows and bedsheets with embroidery patterns. She also sells embroidery works to clients.