Development Strategies for Rural Tourism in Mountainous Areas under the Background of Rural Revitalization: Taking Xujia Village, Meiling Town, Nanchang City as an Example

Qiang LIU, Xulin LIU

College of City Construction, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, China

Abstract Rural tourism industry is a new typical tourism industry in China to promote the strategic integration and linkage development of secondary and tertiary industries, and has developed into a new path to promote the strategic integration and development of rural major projects and revitalize industries[1]. At present, China’s rural cultural tourism is developing rapidly, but there are also some problems, such as single construction mode, accurate product positioning, lack of cultural connotation, etc., facing the development dilemma of high quality[2]. Under the background of rural revitalization strategy, the overall development of eco-tourism is an important direction of rural tourism development[3]. Meiling town is located in the present Xinjian District of Nanchang City (the former Wanli District). As the central garden of Nanchang City, Meiling town has a good tourism foundation and rich eco-tourism resources, with good prospects of eco-tourism development. Taking Xujia Village in Meiling town as an example, this article analyzes the favorable and unfavorable factors of rural tourism development, and puts forward a new rural tourism development road with rural tourism as the center, ecological civilization construction as the core and rural reconstruction as the guiding concept.

Key words Rural revitalization, Rural tourism, Mountainous area, Development strategy

1 Introduction

Rural tourism in mountainous areas mainly refers to the rural tourism that has been developed in mountainous areas of China[4]. China has a vast mountainous area and a large number of people living in the mountainous areas. More than 90% of the ethnic minorities are distributed in mountainous areas. So, at present, rural and ethnic tourism activities in mountainous areas in China are relatively hot. At the same time, the vast majority of poor people in China are also located in mountainous areas. Developing rural tourism in mountainous areas plays an important role in alleviating poverty in mountainous areas.

After decades of development, there are more and more rural tourism areas in mountainous areas, and the distribution range is becoming wider and wider, and the mode is also changing with each passing day. However, different problems begin to appear, such as the disappearance of local flavor, the lack of characteristics of tourism products, and the sameness, leading to some rural scenic spots in mountainous areas gradually losing their attraction. This brings a series of problems to rural tourism in mountainous areas[5]. This paper analyzes the rural tourism planning of Xujia Village in Meiling Town and puts forward strategies for optimizing the development of rural tourism, with a view to providing a reference for the development of rural tourism in mountainous areas.

2 Overview of Xujia Village

Xujia Village is located in the southwest of Meiling Town, 8 km away from the central area. It is located in the main peak scenic area of Meiling scenic spot. There are Zhuhai Mingzhu, Shenlongtan, Wolonggu and other tourist attractions nearby. The village is surrounded by mountains and beautiful scenery. It is a typical terrace type village. The village had not been renovated before 2019, and the original ecological texture is well preserved. The village is backed by mountains and faces the terraced valley.

The village is adjacent to Meiling Village in the east, Zhaoxian Town in the south and Lixin Village and Gaojia Village in the west and north. There is only one road to Xujia Village. After passing through Yangkeng of Lixin Village, Shatian of Xiaotian Town and Xiongjiakeng of Xincun, it comes to Xujia Village. The road conditions are complex, and some of the roads are steep and curved. There may be potential safety hazard of landslide on both sides of the mountain, making transportation difficult and inconvenient. The village has a humid tropical or subtropical monsoon climate with abundant rainfall, high humidity and great temperature difference. The average temperature in winter is 14.5-17.6 ℃, and in summer is about 5 ℃.

Xujia Village has 86 households with a total population of 305. At present, the village has a permanent resident population of 5, mainly the elderly and the disabled. The main income of the villagers comes from going out to work. In the village, rice is the main planted crop. There are 0.268 ha of cultivated land and 103.18 ha of forest land in the village.

3 Investigation and analysis of tourism development in Xujia Village

3.1 Advantages of Xujia Village for tourism development

3.1.1Mountainous areas have rich tourism resources and beautiful ecological environment. Meiling mountain area has complex terrain, diverse climate, overlapping mountains, lush vegetation and diverse species. Tourism resources are very rich. Due to the different topography and different natural conditions, the spatial distribution characteristics of tourism resources are different, and a variety of tourism projects can be selected, such as sightseeing, exploration and investigation, which can meet the needs of different groups of tourists. Xujia Village is a typical platform type village, fronting water with mountains on the back, surrounded by green trees, fresh streams and clean air. The natural ecological conditions are excellent, which is in line with the leisure needs of tourists.

3.1.2Mountainous areas are less affected by urbanization and have obvious advantage for late development. Due to the less direct involvement of modern civilization in protecting rural culture, many remote mountainous areas still retain a large number of original and unique rural customs. There are many rural cultural landscapes and rural customs that preserve the local flavor. Most of these undeveloped rural cultural landscapes are located in remote places. Because of the inconvenient transportation and other factors, it is unknown to people at home and abroad. The local natural scenery is beautiful, and many original and unique natural and cultural landscapes are preserved. The traditional national culture is simple and strong, which has become an important advantage of Xujia Village for developing rural cultural tourism in recent years.

3.1.3The rural tourism mode in mountainous areas caters to the psychological needs of contemporary tourists. Rural tourism is developing more and more mature. The demand of tourists for rural tourism products and experience has gradually expanded from single to diversified. In the past, urban residents are limited to travel to the outskirts of the city. Most of them travel alone, and come back on the same day. There are fewer people staying overnight. Now, it shows diversity. In the past, tourists only focused on leisure. Now, they have turned to experience, entertainment and education. Under the unique resource conditions of mountainous areas, tourists can enjoy the rural scenery, eat the delicious food, live in the rural, buy rural specialties and experience rural farm work.

3.1.4Geographical location transforms from disadvantage to advantage. With the improvement of traffic conditions, tourists’ travel routes gradually spread from outskirts to outer suburbs. According to the relevant survey, tourists travel more and more far away from downtown, and the travel radius of residents for rural travel has gradually expanded. About 59% of the tourists chose the travel radius of 1-3 h, which is more than that of suburban rural tourism. Mountainous areas, which are located far away, have entered the tourist’s choice. With the acceleration of urbanization, the atmosphere of industrialization in suburbs has increased greatly. Due to lagging development, natural environment and natural food, mountainous areas in outer suburbs become the new source of rural tourism. Xujia Village is about 30 km away from Nanchang City, and it is the best choice for tourists in Nanchang city.

3.2 Shortcomings of Xujia Village for tourism development

3.2.1Poor traffic conditions. Although Xujia Village is only 8 km away from the town, the traffic is extremely complicated. At present, there is only one access road in Xujia Village, and the township road 04 is its main road connecting with the outside world. The route passes through Yangkeng, Xiaoshatian and Xiongjia of Lixin Village to Xujia Village. The road conditions are complex. Some sections have steep slope and large curvature, and there is hidden danger of landslide. Although the road has been hardened, it is seriously damaged. Affected by the terrain, some sections are narrow. The traffic is inconvenient.

3.2.2Difficult land transfer. Xujia Village has 137.0 ha of land. It is mainly composed of mountain forests, and the area of cultivated land is relatively small. The area of mountain forests is about 103.18 ha, accounting for 74.93% of the total area. The area of cultivated land is about 0.268 ha, accounting for 9.9% of the total area. After the reform and opening up, Xujia Village allocated all the land to farmers. As a result, the land is scattered and the difficulty of land transfer is greatly increased due to the strengthening of cultivated land protection, not conducive to the development of rural tourism.

3.2.3Low cultural level of villagers. Xujia Village is located in the mountainous area. Affected by traffic conditions, Xujia Village has less contact with the outside world and more information is closed. Illiterate and semi illiterate farmers account for the vast majority of the total population, and there is great resistance to the development of rural tourism. This can’t provide corresponding services for the rural tourism development of Xujia village.

3.2.4Poor environmental facilities. As the development time of "three links" in Xujia Village is not long, although the tourism heritage resources are rich, they have not been properly developed. Xujia Village has poor traffic roads and underground drainage ditches. There is not much green space in front of the houses and behind the houses. The village capacity does not fully meet the needs of tourists and receptionists in the village. The village level public service facilities are also poor, and there is no medical room and health room. The supporting facilities of tourism service reception center, such as accommodation, catering, entertainment and leisure and shopping need to be gradually built.

4 Experience of Xujia Village in rural tourism development

4.1 Developing leisure and sightseeing agricultural tourism projectCombining with the existing farmland to develop agricultural tourism, we can increase the ornamental value of farmland while planting crops to attract residents of surrounding cities to take photos for free through various channels. The local abundant bamboo resources are used to process small handicrafts, so that bamboo products with local characteristics can attract tourists for production. At the same time, it can also be used as souvenirs to produce certain economic benefits. It can not only effectively solve the sales problem, but also provide better entertainment and leisure activities for tourists.

4.2 Developing forest rehabilitation projectXujia Village fronts water with mountains on the back. The hillside is protected. The vegetation behind the village is becoming greener and greener and the stream is trickling down. In the process of rural tourism development in Xujia Village, combining with the valley in front of the village, a forest health area is built in the village, and it is endowed with health care function while improving the landscape of the village. In addition, many small nodes are set up in this area, such as health care trail, art garden, parent-child paradise, waterfront study and viewing platform, enhancing the experience of tourists.

4.3 Developing rural characteristic catering serviceWith the increase of the number of tourists, the restaurants in the village begin to develop rural characteristic catering. In terms of taste, nutrition and health, organic farm specialties are often more attractive to tourists. Special vegetables are mainly planted in the village, which ensures the freshness, and even provides guests with the opportunity to harvest and cook vegetables themselves, letting them fully feel the happiness of the countryside.

4.4 Renovating old houses and developing family hotelsThe buildings in Xujia Village are of mountainous architectural style. Although some of them are dilapidated and have poor facade, in the process of tourism development, they have not been demolished blindly, and instead, they are renovated by a professional architectural design company. On the basis of maintaining the facade and style of the original buildings, hardware is equipped according to the standard room of economic hotel, to achieve cleanliness and meet the basic requirements and accommodation needs of guests. At the same time, according to the change of market demand, Xujia Village has opened a family hotel to enhance the diversity and experience of accommodation conditions.

4.5 Establishing network marketing channel and strengthening promotionXujia Village appointed a special team to set up and operate a Wechat official account. At the same time, villagers can participate in the joint planning to let them join in and subscribe to this official account. The official account is used to regularly or irregularly publicize rural tourism activities and new highlights in the village. Micro videos or photos are taken to show the agricultural products and rural scenery of the village.

5 Conclusions

5.1 Restoring rural impression and avoiding rural urbanizationCompared with suburban rural tourism, mountainous rural tourism has no transportation advantage, and its infrastructure construction is also weaker than suburban rural tourism. In order to enhance the competitiveness of rural tourism in mountainous areas, it is necessary to enhance the "rural nature" of rural tourism in mountainous areas and grasp the local complex of tourists. This is also the essential attribute that distinguishes rural areas from cities or towns. Therefore, in the development of rural tourism in mountainous areas, we should try our best to restore the nature of rural areas and show the rural customs, which is the key to the development of rural tourism in mountainous areas.

5.2 Developing original eco-tourism commodities with local characteristicsDue to remote geographical location, mountainous villages have retained a more traditional rural lifestyle, and their ecological environment, production and life are less affected by the external environment. Rural tourism commodities with local characteristics can be developed. Cities lack commodities with regional and folk characteristics, especially original ecological products with obvious local culture. Through ecotourism products, the communication between urban and rural areas is promoted, and the original culture and products are exhibited to tourists. They are an important cornerstone of rural tourism development in mountainous areas.