Huang Pengxun, who's running a homestay in Hengkantou village of Yuyao city in Zhejiang province, introduces a specialty dish to tourists. [Photo/people.com.cn]

Formerly a poverty-stricken village, Hengkantou village has now emerged as a well-off and civilized village and a hit destination for Red tourism.

Located in Yuyao city in Zhejiang province, Hengkantou village had poor transport and living conditions at the beginning of the century.

With the hardwork and the leadership of the villagers and village organization, the village now has gotten out of the poverty mire.

Official data shows that the village's per capita disposable income surpassed 30,000 yuan ($4,477.6) in 2018, while its collective income reached 5.28 million yuan.

The result is largely due to the village's efforts to adjust its industrial structure banking on its abundant Red resources.

In 2003, the central government rolled out a national plan on Red tourism development from 2004 to 2010, as the tourism featuring visits to historical sites and relics in revolutionary history gained increasing popularity.

Riding on the opportunity, Hengkantou village decided to develop Red tourism. In a bid to better protect and repair the old sites, it relocated 37 households who used to live in those old buildings, according to Zhang Zhican, Party chief of the village.

As the core area of anti-Japanese base in eastern Zhejiang, Hengkantou received only 20,000 tourists annually from 2000 to 2004. However, in 2018, the figure surged to over 700,000, official data shows. On top of developing Red tourism, fruit plantation and family homestays are also two significant sources of incomes for villagers.

Currently, a wide variety of fruit has been planted in the village ranging from cherry, waxberry, blueberry to kiwi, among which, the plantation of cherry has topped 800 mu (about 53.3 hectares).

Meanwhile, homestays offering visitors to the village a place to relax and enjoy locally produced food, or even a place to lodge emerged as local tourism booms.

Huang Pengxun, in his 70s and who is running a family homestay in the village, said he earned more than 900,000 yuan last year despite his homestay's disadvantaged location. Thus far, there is eight homestays running in Hengkantou.

The opportunities spawned by the village's transformative changes have attracted plenty of young people to return to their hometown to seek development. On such example is Huang Xujie, a college graduate born in the 1990s.

Last year, Huang opened a homestay in the village. With an investment of 1.3 million yuan, the facility could accommodate up to 130 people.