An’ao, located in Wanshan Town, Lujiang County, Anhui Province, was originally just a remote natural village. Because most of the aborigines went out to work, only 13 houses remained idle all year round, and fell into the dilemma of deserted courtyards and no one with houses. Since 2018, Lujiang County has gradually introduced the slow life concept of “perfect integration of green mountains and waters and high-end homestays”. By attracting high-quality projects, it has effectively revitalized idle houses and stock land, fully relying on the existing landform, combining with local conditions, using local and new building materials, and integrating modern architectural aesthetic elements on the basis of maintaining the original regional style to the maximum extent, Using ingenious traditional techniques, we have meticulously created a dream-building countryside – Yunli An’ao homestay, a place to heal the soul of “sleeping at night by the side of mountains and streams, living in the cool wind”, and successfully won the honor of “the first batch of Class A tourist homestay in China”. Unlike the high-end boutique homestay invested and operated by most private capital in China, this high-end and high-class homestay is controlled and operated by state-owned capital.
People and nature form landscape feelings
“Ten li long is ten li long, the wheat seedlings are green, the cauliflower is yellow, and the green trees and tender tea are full of hills.” During the National Day in 1959, Hu Huiling, a girl from Lujiang, Anhui Province, sang “Ten li long is good scenery”, which made “Ten li long is” famous all over the world. Changchong Village was rated as the “National Key Village for Rural Tourism”, where Yunli Anwa is located. Unlike several simple houses built in the countryside, Yunli An’ao, which covers an area of 142 mu, is almost a complete small village. The whole village is laid down along the rolling terrain. On the mountains, there are buildings with different shapes and unified styles. The clear river runs through the whole village like a link. During the stroll, you will be surrounded by mountains and rivers, lush grass, small bridges in green fields, and picturesque valleys in the clouds, so that people who first came here will forget the troubles of noise in an instant.
Yunli An’ao seems to grasp the essence of nature and cater to people’s natural love for mountains and rivers. Step by step, push the window to see the mountain. Every corner has inadvertently succeeded in closing the distance between man and nature. Thanks to the ingenious design, Yunli An’ao seems to be a very natural village, and the whole village has been transformed from idle local houses. It is hard to imagine that it has been ruined before.
Before the renovation, there were 14 private houses in Anwa, but only one was occupied. With clear property rights, the final location was determined here. No matter from the natural water system, the groundwater level, the slope direction and the vegetation in the site, the beautiful and quiet Anwa is livable. Compared with building a house in isolation before, the designer team now pays more attention to how to better handle the relationship between the building and the environment and people. “How to successfully integrate architecture into nature, how to make people, architecture and nature form a living ecosystem, how to make people better arrange their lives in the environment, and how to reflect the ‘landscape feelings’ in traditional Chinese culture are the design concepts we have been exploring.” Related designers introduced.
“State-owned leading” innovative development model
The artist has given the declining village a new look and temperament, but how can we keep the harmony between man and nature? “The sleeping resources in the countryside have been awakened, and the subsequent development and utilization is a topic worthy of exploration. We are determined to try a different path in Anwa, and firmly hold it in our hands.” Zhou Tianbin, the county governor of Lujiang County, said that unswervingly adhering to the state-owned capital investment and operation is the biggest feature of Anwa.
Based on the revitalization and utilization of rural resources, Lujiang County has made efforts to gradually transform “sleeping resources” such as “mountains, rivers, forests, lakes, fields and houses” into “development capital”, and gradually transform “beautiful countryside” into “beautiful economy”, making it possible to revitalize the originally depressed countryside. In order to further explore the development mode of homestay industry and realize the transformation of rural “beautiful resources” into “beautiful economy”, Lujiang County has established the Rural Revitalization Investment Development Co., Ltd. since 2020, focusing on the collection, storage or lease of rural idle assets and resources in the whole county, and the development and construction of tourism homestay projects with rural revitalization funds raised by the government to form fixed assets. “The completed homestay project, as a village collective asset, is introduced into a third-party operating company by way of equity or lease, and the operating enterprise pays the village collective income according to the agreement, forming three development modes of state-owned capital investment and operation, state-owned capital and social capital cooperation, and social capital investment and operation, further activating idle rural assets and strengthening the village collective economy.” An Ning, deputy general manager of Lujiang County Rural Revitalization Investment Development Co., Ltd.
Anwa mode has obvious advantages. First of all, the operation and development of the homestay and the environment give priority to the ecological protection, and then let the farmers become the biggest beneficiaries. In addition to the income from housing rental and working, there are also the operating dividends of the homestay; It is conducive to the shaping and precipitation of the brand of homestay to consider the return on investment without rushing for quick success and instant benefit; The investment and operation of state-owned capital is more conducive to resource accumulation and model replication. At the same time, in order to promote strengths and avoid weaknesses and let professional people do professional work, Lujiang County Rural Revitalization Investment and Development Co., Ltd., the property owner of Anwa homestay, specially hired a company specialized in homestay operation to carry out daily management.
The homestay industry drives the flow of factors
In order to improve the cultural connotation and market competitiveness of the homestay, Lujiang County integrates the local characteristic cultural elements into every detail of the construction and layout of the homestay, so that tourists can not only stay in the “mountain” and “water”, but also stay in the “culture”. In combination with local folk customs, we independently develop a series of cultural and creative products, such as bookmarks, mobile phone shells, small fans, etc. Through brand cultural and creative design, we will integrate more agricultural products into the development of homestay companion gifts, create personalized and elegant gifts with temperature, and enrich the consumption system of homestay products.
“Although the Lujiang homestay industry started only three or four years ago, it has played an important role in driving the employment of villagers and feeding back the rural economy as a new form of rural industry.” Su Rong, director of the Lujiang County Culture and Tourism Bureau, said that by developing the homestay industry, it has effectively activated the idle assets of Lujiang rural areas, driven the flow of capital, logistics, information and people, and attracted talents to gather in the countryside. Rural culture, rural environment Rural industry is gradually moving towards revitalization. Up to now, the Lujiang homestay project has integrated 150 million yuan of rural revitalization bridging funds, achieved 9 million yuan of village collective income, solved the employment of more than 500 villagers, driven the sales of agricultural specialty products around the homestay to more than 8 million yuan, and added endogenous impetus to the development of township and village-level collective economy.