Countryside culture experiences add appeal for urban tourists

With Dragon Boat Festival around the corner, bed-and-breakfast businesses in rural Beijing are boosting their cultural offerings to attract tourists, China Tourism News reported.

Among them, Rareyard Village, after researching ancient customs and convention for the traditional festival, designed three themed activities for its B&B operation in Changping district on the outskirts of Beijing. These include using wormwood to make paper and learning about herbs.

"Our guests can take their handicrafts home," Zhang Peng, a co-founder of Rareyard, told the Beijing-based newspaper. "Bringing ancient wisdom and cultural aesthetics to life is very fulfilling."

Zhang Haichao, a founder of the Dayin Yushi B&B, told the newspaper: "We cannot abandon traditions. Dragon Boat Festival is rich in cultural connotations and folk customs. We want to offer guests a charming rural Dragon Boat Festival experience."

He plans to invite villagers to celebrate the festival with guests at the Dayin Yushi B&B in Yanqing district. Activities are to include wrapping zongzi (a traditional Chinese dish made of glutinous rice stuffed with various fillings served during the festival) and making xiangnang (a traditional decoration that is often stuffed with scented herbs).

By doing this, guests will get to learn how villagers spend the festival up close, he added.

In addition, he plans to organize a rural fair in summer, where guests can drink craft beers, browse antique furniture for sale, make handicrafts and play music. Attending such a fair and an open-air concert at night will bring a chic twist to guests' itinerary, he said.

Families with children are a key target group that the rural B&B operators would like to attract.

"Many parents wish their children to return to nature and enjoy an idyllic village life, temporarily getting away from being glued to electronic devices," said Yu Xin, general manager of Friends B&B.

"For this reason, we have launched the Pastoral Class, where children can identify insects and listen to birdsong in the woods during the day, and watch a starry sky on the lawn at night," Yu said.

The Pastoral Class is available at Friends' rural B&B in Miyun district. Yu said he has faith in its market prospects.

"From the feedback from many of the parents to us, the children have developed an attachment to the countryside and created unique memories."

A Beijing resident surnamed Ge has decided to spend the three-day festival, starting on June 22, with her family in Shengshui Lianting Hostel in Fangshan district. She is a regular visitor to the hostel, which appeals to her for its ancient architecture and Zen charm.

Han Jian, founder of the hostel, said that healthcare and healing therapy is the biggest attraction of the homestay. It has invited experts in the field to help guests release mental pressure.

"Climbing the ancient paths, picking wormwood herbs, making handmade incense and lipstick using traditional methods — all of these can help guests calm their minds and learn more," Han said.

Competitive product design, scenarios and cultural experiences are the key to gain a foothold in the increasingly fierce market, said Zhang Peng from Rareyard. "We keep enriching our product portfolio, adding a farm, campsite and art workshop, hoping to turn our B&B into an attractive destination."

Data from the Muniao accommodation service agency show that bookings of B&B services in rural Beijing for the festival have reported an upswing, some 1.7 times more than 2022.

Cao Yiyong, founder of rural B&B and lifestyle brand Yuanxiangli, called on his peers to incorporate the countryside.

"The deeper that operators are rooted in rural resources and farming culture, the greater their business appeals to urban tourists," he said.