A bird's-eye view of Pingyuanchi village in Chengbei sub-district, Rugao. [Photo/ntfabu.com]

Pingyuanchi village in Rugao's Chengbei sub-district, a popular tourist destination, has in recent years upgraded its agro-tourism routes. With its new camping, water entertainment, fruit and vegetable picking, and other engaging activities, crowds of people are flocking to the village.

Liu Weijian, Party secretary of Pingyuanchi, revealed that the village typically welcomes two to three thousand visitors on weekends, accumulating an impressive annual total of 300,000 tourists.

This surge in popularity can be attributed to the village's strategic development. Since 2014, Pingyuanchi has built a 100-hectare lotus pond cultural park and created a unique brand featuring specialty agricultural products such as lotus leaf tea, lotus seeds, rose tea, and rose essential oil.

According to Liu, the collective annual income of the village has exceeded 3 million yuan ($421,150). The per capita annual income of the villagers has also reached close to 40,000 yuan. These economic strides can be directly linked to the village's efforts to diversify its revenue streams through innovative tourism initiatives.

Liu is currently busy preparing for the next major project – a rapeseed flower sea set to open this spring. "We are now planning the landscape design and flower-viewing routes to ensure that our village can welcome visitors with a completely new and appealing look," he said.