Poetry and Profits

By Li Xiaoyang

For a long time， Xiao Mo， a Beijing-based travel blogger， had been thinking of visiting the Lonely Library， a neobrutalist structure on the beach at Aranya Resort in Qinhuangdao， Hebei Province. Last winter， Xiao traveled to the building for the first time to witness first-hand the impressive sunrise views from the site she had seen in videos online. “Many other tourists were there despite the cold weather，” she told Beijing Review.

It is hard to imagine that such a popular destination was once an underperforming asset owned by real estate developer Yeland Group. The project originally was a cluster of residential developments. However， despite the companys promotional efforts， sales of apartments and houses were sluggish after they were completed in 2012.

Facing the prospect of major losses， Yeland made the decision to redevelop the area as a vacation destination by adding a wide range of tourist and recreational facilities. The redevelopment proved even more crucial to turning the companys fortunes.

One of these efforts was to build a library on the beach where the resort meets the sea. A video released on its completion in 2015 promoted it as“the loneliest library in China” and received 600 million views. Quietly sitting on the seaside， it is a fairly isolated building looking like a weathered boulder facing the sea. With subsequent videos of the areas picturesque scenery also going viral on social media， Aranya began to grow in reputation and has now become a tourist attraction， especially for people in Beijing who need travel only 300 km to enjoy the serenity.

Data provided by the resort showed that nearly 400，000 tourists have visited the area each year since 2015， bringing around 500 million yuan （$77.3 million） annually to local businesses such as homestays and grocery retailers. The average housing price in communities surrounding the resort has risen from 6，000 yuan（$927） in 2012 to more than 25，000 yuan （$3，865） per square meter.

A strong artistic atmosphere is becoming the hallmark of Aranya. Ma Yin， founder of the resort， said it has hosted various art activities and developed themed groups catering to different interests， which has made it a community rich with culture.

One such activity， the First Aranya Theater Festival， took place on June 10-20， attracting many visitors， including Xiao， a major in theater arts at university.“In contrast to dramas performed in theaters， the seaside performances at the festival provided a more immersive experience for festival-goers，” she said.