Entering the summer, the rain in Weiyuan County, Gansu Province increased. The mountains are surrounded by mist, clouds, and rain, which makes Luojiamo Village a beautiful scroll of ink painting. At the foot of the mountain, deep in the fields, several farmyards surrounded by trees are faintly discernible. Once you approach them, you will find that these farmyards have the same quaint appearance as the local village, however, the interior is quite different. It turns out that this is a Bed and Breakfast (B&B) called “ CIPO Weiyuan）”, which is also the first quality B&B constructed 

In recent years, every summer lots of tourists would come to the Luojiamo Village for its superior resources of water and mountains. Especially after the establishment of the sketching base founded by the villagers, the scenery of Luojiamo also goes far away accompanied by the scrolls of sketchers, letting more people know the beauty of Luojiamo. The village began to develop rural tourism.

Stimulate endogenous motivation

In 2019, Luojiamo Village realized poverty alleviation of the whole village, and the life quality of villagers has been greatly improved. With the continuous visit of tourists, the villagers depending on the farmland also explored that the wonderful life could also be attained by tourism. How to better develop rural tourism in this village becomes a mutual request for the villagers.

Weiyuan County, as one of the key counties to receive assistance in pursuing rural revitalization, has long received assistance and support from the China Foundation for Rural Development (CFRD, formerly China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation). Earlier in August 2019, CFRD invited relevant authority experts and leading enterprises to conduct field studies in Qingyuan County and project feasibility studies. Finally Bona Villa·Luojiamo Village Program was launched, promoting the in-depth development of local tourism through building quality B&Bs.

Luojiamo Village locates in the south of Weiyuan with good ecological vegetation, rustic humanistic culture, and rich tourism resources. In addition, the convenient transportation condition enables there to get developed and constructed. Cao Qiguang, the Program Manager of the Bona Villa Program of CFRD said that “the important reason for us to select Luojiamo Village as the landing place for the Bona Villa Program is the strong desire and motivation of the villagers to develop their hometown, make their hometown more beautiful and their life more prosperous.”

At the beginning of the project, a number of villages with excellent resources were under the consideration of CFRD. However, after knowing that there was a good program which could promote the village's tourism, the villagers of Luojiamo proactively strived for the implementation of the project through resource combing, investigation and study, and community mobilization.

“The positioning of our project and the later planning, are more focused on the establishment of the mechanism and contacts with the villagers. I hope that through our efforts, we can open up the horizons of the villagers, promote the employment of young and old villagers, and truly stimulate the endogenous power of the village." Cao Qiguang said.

Construct quality B&Bs

After several ‘battles’ against other villages, Luojiamo Village successfully attained this opportunity. With the assistance and cooperation of CFRD, the program was funded by China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG) and the People’s Government of Weiyuan County.

To construct the B&Bs well, the program employed CIPO Group to design and build the B&B room construction, interior decoration, and so forth. The subsequent operation and management were also delegated to the CIPO Group. "As an experienced B&B brand integrating design, soft outfit, and operation, based on the natural scenery and humanistic features of Luojiamo Village, we use culture to ink and creativity to dress up the 'tacky' rammed earth houses in the village, and retaining the original flavor of the houses. We try to make the houses feature both traditional rural aesthetics and customary and high-quality hotel accommodation without any cliche." Wu Wei said.

On April 10, the construction of the Bona Villa Program in Luojiamo Village officially started. The program was divided into two phases. In the first phase of the program, 9 quality B&Bs were reconstructed with the construction of infrastructure including municipal roads, water supply, heating, and electricity. In the second phase, a general service center integrating conference affairs, training, catering, and display of agricultural products. Additionally, a rural cultural talent service center, 2 sets of lodging, 10 sets of tents, and other facilities were built. On March 17, 2022, the program was finished.

At present, “ CIPO Weiyuan” has already become the brand name of the B&Bs of the Bona Villa Program in Luojiamo Village. With a plain exterior appearance, the B&Bs were well-equipped with facilities like large soft beds, tatami mats modeled after kang from the Northwest of China and separate wet and dry baths. The various furnishings in the house are also finely crafted B&B, creating a different atmosphere for those staying in the house to return to the countryside of their childhood, allowing them to revel in it and reminisce about the old days.

Ms. Ma, the tourist from Dingxi said that, with a rough and simple appearance, the inner side of the B&Bs is colorful, which is like the men in the Northwest, who look dull but have delicate minds and abundant emotions. And the name of each courtyard, like “home of water”“crest”“low-lying hill”“grass slope”, is also full of “rustic flavor” and “wit”, which makes people curious about the B&B courtyards.

Inside the B&Bs, with the outline of the designer, the rustic tables and chairs, the old objects hanging on the wall, the tiles on the table, and the mix of practical home furnishings and furnishings with an antique flavor, crochet the whole space into a quiet scroll. Even a casual shot could be a beautiful picture. Looking through the window, the flowers and trees around the courtyard and the distant mountain scenery echo with the house. It is truly that, there are paintings in the room, while you can admire the scenery once you open the window. Wu Wei said, “We hope that visitors living here can remember the nostalgia in their minds through the B&Bs, and experience the traditional idyllic life in the traditional Northwest courtyard to satisfy their spiritual sustenance.”

Lead to increased income and wealth

Recently, He Xiaoyu from the Luojiamo Village was busy, as one of the B&B housekeepers of the Bona Villa·Luojiamo Village Program, she was busy learning the manners to host guests from the manager, checking out the B&B facilities, and receiving several service trainings to strive to be in the best condition and quality service ability to serve guests from far away. The entire B&B has 5 housekeepers, all of whom are local villagers. The Launch Ceremony of Bona Villa·Luojiamo Village Program and Digital Mulan B&B Housekeeping Training Program for 2022 was held. The B&B housekeepers also received specified training. 

“We hope to attract a group of talents, especially the local youth to participate in the construction of their hometown, through dialogues with different partners.” Cao Qiguang introduced, through the construction of the program, we provide a road and approach for the local villagers to explore the developments and changes in the external world. The process of constructing the program is also a program that enhances their mindset. This kind of desire for a better life and efforts from the mind is the original purpose of the construction of the Bona Villa Program of CFRD. We also hope that this program could nurture specialized talents for the rural B&B industry and promote the high-quality development of the rural cultural tourism industry.

“I have a fixed income every month now, with great benefits for holidays. The treatment is quite better here than where I worked before.” He Xiaoyu said, the most important thing is that she also learned much expertise in the hospitality service field, which not only enhance her knowledge but also broaden her insight and mindset.

Despite the coming of the hot summer, the weather of Luojiamo Village, which locates in the Semi plateau mountainous areas is cool. According to Wu Wei, this cool weather is quite attractive for consumers from Jiangxi and Zhejiang Provinces. We will take advantage of the season to focus on summer resort tourism that combines health and senior care, and attract tourists to stay at the B&Bs for consumption by planning a variety of themed activities including book clubs, candlelight dinners, bonfires, indoor specialties, and outdoor camping. “Operating the B&B well is also taking responsibility for the local villagers, which is because, if the income of the B&B increase, Luojiamo Village will get a bonus, and the villagers could receive extra income.”, said Wu Wei.

The construction of Bona Villa·Luojiamo Village Program also plays a leading role in the high-quality development of the B&Bs in Weiyuan County, which promote both the high-quality development of rural tourism in both Luojiamo Village and Weiyuan County. “The villagers have high expectations about the B&B, hoping its coming could allow better development of the rural tourism of our village and attract more tourists visiting here. With more tourists, our life will get better,” said Chen, a local villager who helps at the B&B.

About Bona Villa·Luojiamo Village

「Bona Villa·Luojiamo Village」which is located in Weiyuan County, Dingxi City, Gansu Province, is cooperatively built as CTG Rural Tourism Economic Supporting Demonstration Program by CTG, CFRD and the People’s Government of Weiyuan County. As a leading model, this program further promotes the general development of the rural revitalization area in Weiyuan County and contributes to the collective economy of the county and the innovation of the common prosperity system. We will take full advantage of the cultural and ecological resources, to plan, design and renovate unused residential houses in the countryside to adapt to rural tourism, create benchmark demonstration B&B products, and drive the development of the regional industry.