Dushiyuan village in Shigang town, Tongzhou district is the only Nantong entry in the 2020 list of China's Beautiful Leisure Villages. [Photo/ntfabu.com]

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs released the 2020 list of China's Beautiful Leisure Villages on Aug 28. A total of 248 villages were listed.

Dushiyuan village in Shigang town, Tongzhou district is the only one in the city of Nantong included on the list.

Dushiyuan village has a profound historical background and rich tourism resources. In the Tang Dynasty (618-907) there was a Buddhist temple in the village which drew a visit from Liu Yuxi, a renowned poet of the dynasty.

Being a fishing bay and water town, Dushiyuan village has a drainage area of 7.84 square kilometers. The Fishing Bay scenic spot is recognized as a national 2A-level tourist attraction, a Jianghai ecological leisure tourism base and an agritainment base of Nantong.

In recent years, relying on its unique "water town and wetland" resources, Dushiyuan village has aimed to create a new pattern that integrates modern and efficient agriculture, customized agricultural products as well as ecological and cultural leisure services.

The village has circulated more than 186 hectares of land, built three family farms of significant scale and planted 60 ha of ecological forest. It plans to designate about 66 ha of land for characteristic rural tourism projects.

At present, Dushiyuan village has developed featured agricultural products such as Shigang fermented bean curd, shrimp, cake and roasted goose. In 2018, it received 142,000 tourists and achieved revenue of 3.62 million yuan ($529,363).