Zhouduo village in Hai'an, a county-level city in Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province, recently made the 2023 list of China's beautiful and leisurely villages, according to China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. This is the only village in Nantong to make the list.

Located in Hexia area in Hai'an, Zhouduo has been making the most of its unique wetland ecology and water-town folk culture. In recent years, the village has been developing distinctive tourism-oriented agricultural products.

Zhouduo has made huge strides in the integration of leisure agriculture with rural tourism, giving rise to a leisure farming brand.

One example is the Hongjiatan leisure agriculture park. Covering an area of 210 mu (14 hectares), the park combines multi-dimensional ecological farming, recreation and entertainment, cherry-picking, and dining and lodging facilities.

Since its establishment, it has hosted events such as the Cherry-Picking Festival, Lotus-Picking Festival, Food Festival, Fishing Festival, and Chinese-style Wedding Photography Contest and has attracted visitors from various places across the country, said Fu Xianfeng, the park's general manager. The park receives over 35,000 visitors annually, Fu added.

In 2017, the park was designated as a provincial-level themed innovative agricultural park.

The county is currently home to nine operators engaged in leisure agriculture, managing an area of 2,356 mu. Popular activities include fruit and vegetable picking, sightseeing, photography, fishing, farming experiences, and rural comprehensive development.

In 2022, Zhouduo received 144,000 visitors in the leisure agriculture and rural tourism sector, generating 44.35 million yuan ($610,762) in revenue. This revenue comprised 31.2 million yuan from sales of agricultural and sideline products, 11.6 million yuan from accommodation and leisure services, and 1.55 million yuan from ticket sales, according to Su Xiuping, the village's Party secretary.

People pick fruit on a farm in Zhouduo village. [Photo/Nantong Daily]