Zhuge village in Lanxi, a county-level city in Jinhua, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/Jinhua Daily]
Zhuge village in Lanxi, a county-level city in Jinhua, East China's Zhejiang province, has in recent years been making efforts to explore a unique path to common prosperity.
For example, the village that boasts many ancient buildings dating back to the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911) has been tapping into its historical and cultural resources to develop rural tourism.
The village, which boasts more than 200 such buildings, has invested more than 100 million yuan ($13.94 million) to renovate 60,000 square meters of ancient buildings, alleys, and temples.
The village also established a tourism development company in 2002 to boost tourism, which in turn will aid in the protection of its cultural relics.
Authorities encourage residents to run homestays, cafes, tea houses and bookstores and to develop Zhuge-themed tourism products such as fans and locks to provide jobs, with the goal of employing more than 400 residents and generating an annual tourism revenue of 160 million yuan ($22.29 million).
Residents are eligible to receive social insurance, medical insurance, personal accident insurance and scholarships, while seniors aged 60 or over are eligible to receive a living allowance of more than 300 yuan every month.
The village, which is home to one of the largest groups of descendants of Zhuge Liang (181-234), a prominent statesman, military strategist, and literati in the Three Kingdoms period (220-280), is now a popular travel destination.
