‘Experience Officers’ Visit Anji in Groups, Unlocking the Pinnacle of Chinese Rural Tourism
By Correspondent Yu Ying
On October 17，the United Nations Tourism Organization’s Fifth “Best Tourist Village” Award Ceremony and the Third “Best Tourist Village” online annual meeting were successfully held at the Anji International Convention and Exhibition Center in Huzhou City. More than 350 guests, including representatives from the United Nations Tourism Organization, heads of national delegations, and representatives of the world’s Best Tourist Village, gathered in the beautiful bamboo hometown to celebrate this grand event.
During the event, the main visual design incorporated bamboo elements. Bamboo trophies, bamboo place cards, and bamboo tableware showcased Anji’s wisdom in “replacing plastic with bamboo.” Performances such as the bamboo leaf dragon dance and bamboo music exhibitions allowed guests to experience the perfect integration of nature and art. At the “Lakes and Mountains, Gifts from the Bamboo Hometown” international cultural and tourism market, activities like bamboo weaving demonstrations, bamboo craft exhibitions and sales, white tea art performances and tastings, and VR rural tours attracted frequent attention from international friends. The guests also visited and toured many locations in Anji, including Dazhuyuan Village, Yu Village, Yunshangcaoyuan, Xiaoyin·Bannri Village, and Zhongnan Baicaoyuan, experiencing firsthand the natural scenery and cultural landscapes of Anji’s countryside.
Here, unique cultural elements converge, and the charm of China’s beautiful countryside is fully showcased. Anji captivates with its ecology, shines with its cultural tourism, and connects with friends through bamboo, presenting a beautiful, vibrant, and open Chinese bamboo hometown to the world.
“Hosting this event in Anji has once again drawn global attention to our county, which is the greatest affirmation of our rapidly developing rural tourism industry over the years,” said Ye Mingzhu, Member of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the Anji County Culture, Sports, and Tourism Bureau. In 2021, Yu Village in Anji County’s Tianhuangping Town stood out among 170 applicant villages from 75 countries in Madrid, Spain, and was successfully selected as one of the first “Best Tourist Village” by the United Nations World Tourism Organization.
Over the years, Yu Village has practiced the concept that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.” By closing mines, restoring greenery, and developing rural tourism, it has perfectly integrated ecological protection with rural revitalization, forging a green development path that combines ecological beauty, industrial prosperity, and public wealth. Anji has further expanded the development framework of Yu Village and amplified its radiating effects. Centered on Yu Village, the county has connected 24 villages across one town and two townships (Tianhuangping Town, Shanchuan Township, and Shangshu Township), forming a development pattern where points drive areas, regions interconnect, and overall improvement is achieved. As a result, rural tourism in the Greater Yu Village area has experienced comprehensive development. In 2024, the Greater Yu Village area received over 10 million tourists, with total tourism revenue exceeding 10 billion yuan.
Guided by the pilot model of Greater Yu Village, Anji’s all-for-one tourism development has gained strong momentum. Currently, the advantages of clustered development from points to lines to areas in Anji’s rural tourism are becoming increasingly evident. The county showcases a unique rural tourism cluster advantage characterized by “distinctive products, village highlights, service standards, industry norms, and policy support,” where cultural and tourism integration creates harmony and diversity.
To enhance rural dining experiences, Anji has focused on the theme ” Hundred-County Thousand-Bowl · Anji Flavor,” emphasizing the building of “One Village, One Feast” characteristic rural banquet IP. It continuously introduces seasonal offerings such as the spring farmhouse bamboo shoot feast, summer camping barbecue snacks, autumn specialty noodles and pastries, and winter wellness hot pots, ensuring tourists dine satisfactorily in Anji.
To refine rural accommodations, from 2022 to 2024, the county allocated 100 million yuan annually to improve the quality and branding of the homestay industry. So far, eight rural homestay clusters have been established, 18 rural tourism cluster villages have been developed, and 678 farm stays have been transformed and upgraded into rural lodgings, ensuring tourists stay comfortably in Anji.
To create unique rural experiences, Anji has leveraged its distinctive resources to continuously enrich its product offerings. Innovative developments such as stream trekking and paddleboarding cater to younger tourists, ensuring they have fun in Anji.
To enrich rural gifts, the county has refined and transformed seven cultural elements most representative of Anji, including ecology, bamboo, Wu Changshuo, and white tea. It develops and designs unique cultural and creative products, holds various competitions, and offers cultural and creative souvenirs and tourism goods with Anji’s imprint, ensuring tourists shop with confidence in Anji.
Anji’s rural tourism provides one-stop guarantees for dining, accommodation, transportation, sightseeing, and shopping. Moving forward, Anji County will focus on the “Rural Charm and Product Branding” initiative for rural tourism, unifying logos, promotions, and marketing to build a brand of a thousand rural homestays. It will establish a regional brand for Anji homestays, host cultural and tourism operational matchmaking events, homestay souvenir competitions, and other brand events, and cultivate a high-quality local workforce of rural homestay practitioners.
“At the same time, we will actively improve the quality and efficiency of rural operations. We will treat rural tourism development as a leading industry for rural revitalization, prioritize operational preparedness, and aim to increase the collective annual income of rural tourism cluster villages by over 200,000 yuan by the end of 2025, while attracting more than 3 million tourists within the year,” said Luo Fudi, Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Anji County Culture, Sports, and Tourism Bureau.