Lara Goes Local⑫: Baoting – Village Visits

By / HICN / Updated: 19:37,09-December-2021

As the first rays of dawn come over the horizon and light up the forest with dappled specks of morning light, a small local village nestled between the mountains beings to wake up. The sounds of breakfast being cooked and eaten are like a quiet trumpet heralding the start of a new day. In this episode of Lara Goes Local, our host is taking a break from the hustle and bustle of city life for a quiet weekend exploring Zajin Village and learning about its culture and history.


A small museum in the village gives tourists a chance to mentally step back into the past for a look at what life here was like before the modern world brought change. All sorts of interesting Li ethnicity cultural relics on display whisper charming stories from their creators. Carefully crafted with loving care, many of the rough and tumble houses which they once called home have been preserved and put on display in the museum.


Now, the people of Zajin live in modern concrete homes. Comfortable and clean, recent developments in the field of rural revitalization and beautification have ensured that these modern buildings retain the essence, nature, and the local characteristics of the village.


Young and old alike, everyone in the community works hard to maintain their homes and look after the surrounding environment.

The wonder of this place is the way in which nature, culture, and history are all beautifully interconnected. A conveniently located hotel—the Blonsey—somehow manages to avoid disturbing this charmingly intertwined play of elements.


The staff at Reception were friendly, polite, and extremely professional. Handling the procedures for both Chinese ID and foreign passport, they were quick and efficient.


Coming here, one feels like one is actually visiting Zajin, actually learning something new, and not just taking a weekend away somewhere. Furthermore—comfortable and luxurious as the amenity filled rooms are—the siren song of the view outside the window lures you out of the cozy nest on a stroll through all the beauty the village has on offer including fresh valley air, little reflective ponds, and towering forest giants.

The Betel Valley Scenic Area is located just a stone's throw away. For more than 20 years now, visitors to Sanya have come here to learn in detail about the Li, to watch the traditional song and dance performances, and to stroll beneath the valley's lush green palms.



Betel Valley is known not only for its numerous small museums and pavilions with a variety of artefacts and historical information, but also for thrilling park rides and fun activities to entertain the whole family and a broad selection of food-and-drink throughout the park to ensure that tummies big and small are kept satiated throughout the day.


For most of the visit that sparked this episode of Lara Goes Local, Lara spent her time observing the local Li people and watching their traditional performances. Every culture places a high degree of importance on its music, arts, and crafts. Other than for the pure joy of expression, and the inherent need to create, they are all forms of storytelling. The songs you'll hear in Betel Valley, the performances you see, and even the intricately decorated clothing they wear, are all methods of telling stories full of hidden symbols and mysterious meanings.

However, not that long ago, these truly fascinating cultural elements were never a part of tourist attractions. You may think that the fantastic beaches are what makes Hainan a great travel destination, and even though you’re right about that – there’s a whole lot more going on in and around Hainan to gratify wanderlust.



Small villages, such as Zajin, are perfect weekend getaways from the hustle and bustle of the city and the 9-5 (or longer) work-days. Not too long ago, far too many of these villages were poverty stricken. After 2012, the reaffirmation of the national goal to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and the setting of 2020 as the date by which this should be done, injected new life into these local communities.

Following poverty eradication guidelines, the Baoting County government has guided and encouraged local tourism enterprises to push its residents into more fortunate circumstances.

In the 20 years since it was opened to the public, Betel Valley—with the ethnic culture of Ganza village as its core—has become a renowned ethnic cultural tourism area; the lives of the villagers who are holding the "golden rice bowl" of tourism have undergone radical changes; and, they have become a "new model" for the province to follow in winning the battle to eradicate poverty.



Statistics published in June 2021 show that 44 households and 192 people from Ganza have been lifted out of poverty. As efforts continue to be made, feedback and evaluation continue to be received, and work goes on to ensure that this is no flash in the pan but, instead, is a lasting change.

Actively involved in the construction of a new socialist countryside in Hainan, Beijing Chunguang Group reached long-term strategic cooperation with the county government of Baoting in 2010 on the "New Villages of the Greater Sanya Economic Circle" project with the mode of "tourism + agriculture" and "enterprises + farmers". Spending more than three years to carry out the overall planning and transformation, they developed the Longsai Rural Cultural Tourism Area, and seamlessly integrated the surrounding towns and villages into the project.

Zajin Village is located within the administrative area of the Ganza Village government. Between 2013 and 2019, Chunguang's development project took advantage of the local natural environment and ethnic cultural characteristics to develop rural tourism.



During this period, as Zajin Village was being rapidly transformed, the villagers not only saw considerable improvements in their living environment considerably but also a significant increase in their annual per capita income.

Actively assumed corporate responsibility, and truly achieving poverty alleviation, Chunguang Group provided funds for seedlings, rented land, and contributed towards services and welfare benefits in a way that has broadened the economic income for the villagers of Zajin, reduced the burdens of the village labour force, and helped the villagers of this and other nearby villages receive sufficient training to become employees of the company with better future employment prospects.


The results of the revitalisation of Zajin Village have been highly recognized by the provincial government and have contributed to the boost in Hainan's tourism industry. For tourists and wanderers looking for unique travel destinations with genuine and interesting characteristics, these revitalized villages in Hainan have a great impression and an enticing taste of something unique.

Check out the video above to watch Lara explore this lovely place.

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