When Xingli Group, a tourism, culture and e-commerce company in Guizhou province, offered to renovate houses in Pianpo township for free in 2018, villagers in the mountainous area were skeptical, worrying that the company would charge them later and swindle their limited savings from farming.
But eventually they embraced the arrival of the company, as well as travelers swarming the town for its combination of bucolic landscapes, comfortable accommodations and a variety of cultural events by the local Bouyei ethnic group-known for their indigo-dyed fabrics and rice wine brewing skills.
“Xingli Group covered all renovation costs, and we get 60 percent of total revenue from homestays,” said Chen Tingchao, the…