Red tourism is booming in Nnahuangya village, Jinan, Shandong province [Photo/WeChat account: jnslyj]

Jinan's two impoverished villages have made great progress on their road to eliminating poverty and building a moderately prosperous society due to their blossoming rural tourism.

Zhang Yong in Dongjia village got involved in the homestay industry with the support of the local government after seeing how successful the industry had proved to be in Liquan county, Shaanxi province.

Zhang rented seven residential houses in the village that had been vacant for many years and turned them, along with his own family's old house, into homestays.

In addition, Jiyang black pottery, a popular intangible cultural heritage found in cultures alongside the Yellow River, is also a major project Zhang is funding to help promote rural tourism alongside the Yellow River.

Xu Qingzeng, an inheritor of black pottery, plans to establish a workshop in the village this year to teach black pottery techniques to visitors.

Relying on the homestays, Xu hopes to develop a cultural experience project integrating ICH and cultural learning, which not only has the potential to attract tourists but also increase villagers' incomes.

With its booming rural tourism, Dongjia village has become a model village in Jinan and received 10 million yuan ($1.41 million) in financial support from the government.

Nanhuangya village in Changqing district is working to develop red tourism, or revolutionary-themed tourism.

Local authorities have renovated several revolutionary sites, laid slab stone roads, and improved the village's environment to highlight its culture in the revolutionary period.

In April, Nanhuangya also formed a cultural tourism company to invest in the village's tourism. Most of the employees are local villagers.

Tourists have the chance to experience local tools such as wheelbarrows and shoulder poles and visit revolutionary sites.

To further increase villagers' incomes, the village also plans to develop handicrafts such as weaving products.