'Foreigners in Kunming Season II'—visiting Yanta village

On Aug 15, the series "Foreigners in Kunming Season II" -- visiting Yanta village was jointly hosted by the Foreign Affairs Office of Kunming Municipal People's Government, China Daily's Yunnan bureau, Publicity Department of the CPC Anning Municipal Committee and Zhangshangchuncheng, the new media platform of Kunming Daily.

The host invited a friend from America to visit Yanta village. Through coffee tasting, appreciating silverware, and experiencing intangible cultural heritage and life in a village camp, they felt the renewed beauty of Yanta village under rural revitalization.

As a village with well-preserved historical elements, Yanta village in the south of Anning is only 10 kilometers away from the city center but its development has lagged behind. In the past, the local people made their living by farming and leaving town to seek other opportunities elsewhere. However, since 2019, with help from the expert team of Professor Li Xiaoyun of China Agricultural University, Kunming put forward the concept of urban-driven rural revitalization, and Yanta village has become an experimental village.

After three years, Yanta village now has restaurants and countryside markets and bed-and-breakfast amenities. Entrepreneurial teams from universities have been also introduced to promote the local intangible cultural heritage. Additionally, relying on its reputable brand as the "hometown of red pears in China", Yanta village has successfully held "Yanta pear flower festival", "Yanta pear-picking festival" and other agricultural tourism activities. It has also integrated folk experiences, farmland visits, fishing and other attractions. In 2021, tourism income in Yanta village was more than 600,000 yuan (about $90,000), and it was successfully selected as "China's beautiful leisure village".

After visiting the village, Daniel, the visitor from the United States, said he saw the efforts of the local people to inherit the traditional culture, architecture and food. This has attracted people in the city to come and enjoy their time in the village.

The host, Joyce also pointed out that unlike in past years, there has been an increasing number of young people coming back to their hometowns to start their own businesses instead of seeking opportunities in other places. They have injected vitality into this beautiful village, she said.