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A bird's-eye view shows the lotus ponds in Pingyuanchi village. [Photo/Sipa]

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism released a list of 680 key rural tourism villages in China on Sept 2 – one of which was Pingyuanchi in Rugao, a county-level city administered by Nantong prefecture-level city in East China's Jiangsu province, according to local officials.

The selection of the villages was carried out under the development blueprint for tourism contained in the country's 13th five-year plan (2016-20), as well as under a guideline issued by the State Council on the vitalization of rural industries.

To be listed, a village must have rich cultural and tourism resources, boast sound protection and conservation of its traditional rural culture and have a mature and high-quality tourism products system.

It should also boast a beautiful environment with well-rounded infrastructure and public services up to the standard, among other requirements, according to the ministry.

The list is the second of its kind. Officials said 320 villages made the first list unveiled in July last year.