Young entrepreneurs

The ancient Xidi village has also lured many young people whose modern business-running ideas and techniques have reinvigorated the millennial village.

Hong Yue, 33, returned to Xidi after finishing his undergraduate education in China's southwest Chongqing around 2014 and now runs homestays and a cafe in the village.

"The village is my hometown with rich tourism resources that had yet to be fully tapped. It was a chance to start my own business," he said. His business earned him a good income before the pandemic, with annual revenue totaling roughly 400,000 yuan. He redecorated the homestays and cafe during the outbreak.

"I remember more young people came to the village to start businesses, like coffee shops, grocery stores and homestays around 2019. The village has about 25 cafes and 70 to 80 homestays now," he said, adding that more foreign travelers are coming to his cafe and homestay mainly from Asian and European countries such as Japan and France.

Unlike Hong with his clear life objectives, 29-year-old Zhang Yong from Anhui's Chizhou city takes the village as an out-of-this-world site. He said he first came to the village when he was in college and decided to open his business around 2016.

"The main reason I made this decision is for the slow-paced life with less workload. The village was a good place to escape from job pressures. I felt lost as I just graduated from college," he said, adding that he invested in a tiny bar selling beer and beverages and a small bookshop on a small budget for living.

However, he closed the two shops due to poor management in 2018 and 2020 and landed a new media-related job in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, in 2020. "I returned to the village in 2021 and opened a new coffee shop. Everything here is good for me and I think I will stay until I figure out my next career plan."

Pan Chenli and his wife settled in the village about five years ago, lured by the "hustle and bustle" and otherworldly life of the village, where they now run a homestay.

"Xidi has very strict requirements for renovating these historical buildings with the main structure and exterior walls not allowed to change to protect the 'soul' of the building. It cost us nearly 2 million yuan in renovations and decorating for the six rooms of our homestay. We waited almost one and a half years for the local authorities to review the restoration and decoration plans," said the 36-year-old, who is from Shexian, a county neighboring Xidi.

He said that he and his wife worked at the travel portal Trip.com Group and that experience gives them advantages in running and promoting the homestay online. "Peak season is usually from March to November when the booking rate remains around 85 percent."

He added that many customers, including foreign travelers, became their friends after spending several nights. "I remember in July, there were two guests from Russia living in my homestay for two days. They didn't speak Mandarin so we helped them to arrange an itinerary."