Feeling the pulse of rural revitalization in NW China's plateau villages

XINING, July 29 (Xinhua) -- About 10 years ago, people in Bianmagou Village, northwest China's Qinghai Province, would have never imagined that they could shake off poverty by taking advantage of flowers along the dirt and bumpy roads in the village.

Located in Shuobei Tibetan Township, Bianmagou is over 50 kilometers from the city center of provincial capital Xining and has long been a poor village with residents primarily being minority groups, including Tibetan and Mongolian ethnicities.

With an average altitude of 2,800 meters and cold climate, crop yields here were very low. As there were no other income sources, most villagers had to seek jobs as migrant workers in cities far from their hometown, said Guo Chunhui, Party Secretary of Shuobei Tibetan Township.

In 2015, Bianmagou welcomed a group of foreign tourists, who expressed their admiration for the village's ecology and the blooming flowers. They noted that enhancing infrastructure and services could attract even more visitors to the area.

"These visitors' words planted the seeds in the hearts of the villagers to develop rural tourism, and we started taking action that same year," said Li Zhenhai, general manager of the village's scenic spot.

Supported by the local government, Bianmagou villagers planted alpine flowers such as lupins, chrysanthemums and irises, and ornamental tree species like Qinghai spruce and crabapple trees.

By the end of 2016, the construction of a scenic spot was finished, and the villagers named it "the Sea of Flowers," which spans 800 mu (about 53 hectares). Since then, Bianmagou has attracted a steady stream of travelers.

To further improve the travel experience of tourists, the village increased investments to introduce more facilities and services, according to Li. "The Sea of Flowers" thus emerged as a comprehensive tourism complex, which integrates sightseeing, accommodation, dining, shopping and entertainment.

Thanks to years of dedicated efforts to enhance its ecology and infrastructure, Bianmagou has been designated as a national 4A-level scenic spot and has also been listed among China's demonstration villages for ecological civilization.

Liu Yongmei, an 43-year-old villager who runs an entertainment facility in the scenic area, told Xinhua that her business generates a monthly income of 3,000 yuan (about 420 U.S. dollars).

As her husband also works nearby, Liu's family now earns an annual income of about 80,000 yuan. "This figure is not a small sum for local families," she said.

Like Liu, more than half of the families in Bianmagou village now work in tourism. Since 2016, the scenic spot has received over 2 million visitors, generating total revenues of more than 50 million yuan.

The per capita disposable income of Bianmagou villagers increased from less than 1,800 yuan in 2018 to over 21,000 yuan in 2024, said Guo.

In addition to tourism, plateau villages in Qinghai have also ramped up efforts to develop various industries based on local conditions.

In Guoluozanggongma, a village in Shaliuhe Township of Gangcha County, young livestreamers are promoting specialty products produced by the village, including dried yak meat, highland barley wine and craft beer.

With an average altitude of over 3,300 meters, the village has traditionally relied on family-owned animal husbandry. In recent years, however, it has diversified its economy by developing industries suited to its local conditions, including livestock breeding, craft beer brewery, soilless cultivation, and the processing of livestock by-products.

However, due to the lack of sales channels, the village has not achieved satisfactory sales, said Sonam Tseten, Party secretary of the village.

Supported by the local government, the village built two livestreaming rooms last year and eight herders have since become professional livestreamers, enabling the online sales of local products through e-commerce channels.

Surging sales of specialty products have boosted the increases in the villagers' incomes, said Sonam Tseten, noting the per capita disposable income of households in the village reached nearly 20,000 yuan in 2024.

"For Guoluozanggongma, our new goal is to fully realize rural revitalization as we have shaken off poverty," said Sonam Tseten.

To boost the capacity for advancing rural revitalization, the village established a collectively-owned company in August last year, focusing on the processing and sales of animal husbandry products. Since its inception, the company has achieved sales exceeding 1 million yuan.

According to Sonam Tseten, earnings of the village's collective economy surpassed 1.8 million yuan in 2024 alone, laying a solid foundation for the village's future development.

These two villages epitomize the quick economic growth in rural areas across Qinghai. Official data showed that in the first half of 2025, the per capita disposable income of rural residents in the province reached 7,257 yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 5.9 percent.

In particular, the province recorded thriving market vitality in rural areas, characterized by surging tourist arrivals and the retail sales of consumer goods, the statistics showed.

"With increasing villagers' incomes and a stronger collective economy, we are very confident in achieving the rural revitalization," Sonam Tseten said. ■