A man takes photos of blooming chrysanthemum flowers in Rugao on Nov 5. [Photo/ntjoy.com]

A group of more than 20 We-media outlets and internet celebrities visited Rugao, a county-level city in Nantong, on Nov 5 to witness the achievements the city has made in rural revitalization by combining agriculture and tourism.

The first stop was Pingyuanchi village, which covers an area of four square kilometers. In recent years, the village has taken full advantages of its farming culture and natural scenery to develop rural tourism.

A variety of tourist attractions, including lotus ponds, chrysanthemum flowers, fruit picking, mushrooms, and aquaculture, currently span a total area of about 300 hectares.

The village has held the lotus flower festival every summer since 2017, attracting many visitors from Jiangsu and other provinces.

A chrysanthemum flower festival was launched this year at the newly-opened Shui Zhu Park, luring tourists with its gorgeous autumn scenery.

As of July, rural tourism had generated more than 1 million yuan ($144,900) in collective income for the village and created jobs for more than 800 villagers, increasing incomes by more than 5,000 yuan for each of over 900 households.

The group also visited the Rugao international gardening city in Rucheng sub-district. The city is not only a large-scale flower and tree trading market, but also home to an environmentally-themed hotel and various exhibition halls featuring a variety of bonsais, stone carvings, and more.

The city has become an integrated tourist resort combining recreation, sightseeing, scientific education, family activities, and shopping, and brought in 18.5 billion yuan in sales revenue last year.