Balou village in Tai'an boasts a high greening rate. [Photo/WeChat account: SDTXTA]

Balou village, located in the northern mountainous area of Daolang town, Tai'an, has been developed into a vitalized village that boasts beautiful natural scenery, green mountains, mountain-view yards, and stone-built houses.

Located at an average altitude of over 400 meters, the village has a high forest coverage of 95 percent and boasts good natural conditions such as a high greening rate and a high content of negative oxygen ions.

The village also has abundant resources, produces special agricultural products such as chestnuts, walnuts, hawthorns, and apples, and Chinese medicine materials are easily obtained in the surrounding forests.

The village employed design companies to build homestays and cafeterias in the village to attract visitors in 2017 to promote tourism in the area. In 2019, the village began cooperating with groups to develop eco-tourism, cultural tourism, high-end homestays, and specialized catering services.

To date, the village is home to 15 homestays, one bar, one restaurant, and one camping ground, and is becoming an example of rural vitalization by integrating rural tourism with modern agriculture.

“We plan to build more camping grounds and launch parent-child programs to develop the village into a resort complex consisting of agriculture, culture and tourism,” said Liu Changli, Party secretary of Balou village.