Yichun: B&B economy sees development

This summer, rural homestays in Heilongjiang are becoming increasingly popular, and some boutique homestays are even hard to find a bed. The series of reports “Cool in Heilongjiang” takes you to Jiayin, Yichun, to explore the secret of the “out-of-circle” of homestays here.

At 11 noon, the homestay restaurant in Xueshuiwen Village, Xiangyang Township, Jiayin County was hard to find. Wang Sheng, the founder of the homestay, shuttled around the dining table and introduced local farm dishes to each table of tourists.

Tianjin tourist Zhao Guanghe: “The dishes are very good, especially the various fish in the river. These Northeast specialties are not available in our Tianjin.”

Wang Sheng, founder of the Pinyouran chain homestay: “On average, we receive 150 to 180 people a day, which is exactly doubled compared to last year. Guests who don’t stay here will also eat here. It’s very popular.”

Xueshuiwen Village is adjacent to the Maolanggou Scenic Area and the “most beautiful” National Highway 331, which is an ideal place to open a rural homestay. Since last year, the village has mobilized farmers to invest their idle houses in the village collective. The number of homestays has increased, and the farmers’ pockets have become more bulging.

Liu Xiuxia, a farmer from Xueshuiwen Village, Xiangyang Township, Jiayin County: “It was just a warehouse at that time. I didn’t expect that the two rooms of the stone house would become popular immediately after it opened. They were fully booked every day. This year, the main house was also renovated. If there are many idle houses, they will be renovated. B&Bs make money, and we will renovate them if we can make money.”

Now, Xueshuiwen Village has revitalized 24 idle houses of farmers through the “shareholding + renovation” model, achieved operating income of more than 4 million yuan, and attracted more than 12,000 tourists every year to experience “poetry and distance” here.

Beijing tourist Chu Songyan: “It’s the first time I was woken up by a chicken. I opened the curtains and saw corn fields everywhere. Wow, it was very shocking!”

Yang Dezheng, Party Secretary of Xiangyang Township, Jiayin County: “There are currently 32 homestays in the township, with 340 homestay employees, and the employment rate has increased by 27.8% over last year. Next, we will build Russian-style restaurants, shops, and entertainment to bring tourists a better experience.”

Yichun is known as the “home in the forest”. Entering the dog days of summer, many homestays have ushered in a peak in passenger flow.

Despite the booming business, Wang Jianjun, a “post-95” homestay operator who returned to his hometown to start a business, still shares his homestay on social platforms every day.

Wang Jianjun, homestay operator: “Every tourist who comes will add me on WeChat. When they go back, they will promote our homestay. The relatives and friends they know will come over. We have also achieved the transformation of ‘first-time visitors’ into ‘returning visitors’.”

Recently, Yichun City held the first Forest Health Homestay Exchange Conference. Homestay industry experts, homestay operators, and travel bloggers from all over the country gathered together to discuss the development prospects and cooperation opportunities of the forest health homestay industry.

Mu Xiaoxue, vice president and secretary general of the Homestay and Boutique Hotel Branch of the China Tourism Association: “I think the development of forest health theme homestays is a very big feature of Yichun, and it will have very strong vitality and market potential. We are also very willing to sort out these resources with potential for homestay development and provide them to homestay investors, “one-to-one” to connect, and promote our homestays to higher quality development.”