The income of Pingyuanchi village in Rugao, Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province, expanded from 1.7 million yuan ($237,345) in 2019 to 2.67 million yuan in 2021 by leveraging its idle land.

The village's income is expected to grow by nearly 10 percent this year, said Liu Weijian, Party chief of Pingyuanchi village.

The village has rented 4,243 mu (282.8 hectares) of land to run rice and wheat, lotus root, flowers and seedling, and fruit and vegetable aquatic product business, increasing the village's annual revenue by more than 1.2 million yuan.

Last year, the village built 2,560 square meters of glass intelligent greenhouses and 3,360 square meters of film greenhouses and supporting facilities and rented them to a bonsai farm, increasing the village's annual income by 160,000 yuan.

In addition, the village upgraded its lotus pond and introduced facilities such as a sightseeing train and pendulum ride this autumn to attract more tourists.

Tourists take a train over a lotus pond in Pingyuanchi village in Rugao, Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

Since 2017, the village has held five lotus festivals and two chrysanthemum exhibitions, attracting nearly one million tourists.