This undated photo shows a view of Jieshang Village in Gaopo Township, Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Xinhua)
GUIYANG, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- He Zhicheng returned to his mountain village in southwest China's Guizhou Province in 2024 to open a farmhouse restaurant, after eight years on the Foxconn assembly line in Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan Province -- some 1,500 kilometers away.
"When I worked away from home, I barely got to see my family," He said. "Now, I drop my eldest daughter off at school every morning, and revolve my days around the restaurant, looking after my younger daughter while serving guests."
His return is hardly unique in his native Jieshang Village. The community is now drawing more young people back home by tapping into its historical heritage -- revolutionary sites linked to the Red Army's Long March, the epic 1934-1936 trek that broke through Kuomintang siege -- and advancing rural development.
In April 1935, the Red Army made a stopover in Jieshang to rest and regroup during the Long March, forging close ties with local residents. Today, the village still preserves the slogans the soldiers painted, the billets where they stayed, and the grave of civilians who supported them.
The village, however, had long struggled to develop, hindered by its remote, mountainous location and scattered farmland. "Collective revenue was meager, and we had no signature industry," recalled Yang Lun, the village Party secretary.
The year 2023 marked a major turning point, as Jieshang was selected as a pilot village for a national program to develop "beautiful and revolutionary" rural communities, thereby securing both policy support and funding.
A centerpiece initiative of the program was the construction of a 2.5-kilometer trail retracing the Long March route. Within the village, the trail passes through more than 100 household plots.
"In rural China, villagers don't easily part with their land -- not an inch," said Yan Jiayun, the first Party secretary stationed in Jieshang. "But we told them: if no one comes (into the program), what you grow will remain yours, and yours alone -- it will never bring about more returns."
First Party secretaries are designated officials sent by higher-level governments to live in villages and assist with local development. By 2025, more than 3 million such officials had been dispatched nationwide, helping to improve rural infrastructure, boost collective economies, and upgrade public services by introducing projects and coordinating resources.
To get the project off the ground, Jieshang village officials formed a task force, led the way by offering their own land, and went door-to-door to help villagers see the long-term benefits and development prospects. In the end, 110 households agreed to give up their land -- free of charge -- and the trail was completed.
Leveraging its restored Red Army relics and the Long March trail, Jieshang, together with a private company, set up a tourism operator in the name of the village collective. It has since integrated nearby ecological attractions, such as flower fields, camping sites, and a grassland park, into a package of themed tours.
"By combining revolutionary heritage with natural scenery, we've achieved a synergy where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts," said Qiao Yingshan, a staff member at the tourism company.
Since the tour program was launched, Jieshang has hosted four rural "red trail" walking events, with the largest drawing up to 700 participants. As visitors flocked to the area, many villagers began setting up roadside stands along the trail to sell locally grown specialties.
"One snack stand raked in 700 to 800 yuan (about 110 U.S. dollars) in just half a day," Yan said. "When we went around to check on sales, every villager we met was beaming. That was truly heartening."
The growth of "red tourism" is creating tangible job opportunities for locals. According to Yan, the village's one-day tour itinerary, launched this year, has fueled steady demand for guides, interpreters and drivers. Five farm-stay businesses, including He's family operation, have now opened in the village, employing dozens of residents.
In the meantime, the tourism boom has given a new lease on life to a local red rice variety with a cultivation history of more than 600 years.
Grown at an average altitude of 1,500 meters in Gaopo Township, where Jieshang is located, the rice has a long growing cycle and relatively low yields. It used to sell poorly, and villagers had little incentive to plant it.
After the project got underway, Jieshang registered a company under the village collective to create the "Jieshang Hongxin" red rice brand, introducing unified purchasing, pricing and marketing. The village also brought in agricultural experts to provide technical support, which significantly boosted farmers' enthusiasm. In 2024, the village's red rice planting area reached 541 mu (about 36 hectares), and surpassed 800 mu in 2025.
Zhang Quan, a villager, said he used to carry dozens of kilograms of red rice on his back to sell at the market. Now, with the village collective guaranteeing purchases at minimum prices, he grows more than 20 mu of red rice, earning about 80,000 yuan a year from the crop alone, while also running small side businesses during the off-season to supplement his income.
On top of stable raw grain sales, Jieshang has further expanded its industrial chain by bringing in a business partner to produce red rice wine, boosting the added value of local agricultural products. The village has also converted idle farmhouses into a "Red Village Supermarket" to display and sell local specialties, including red rice and black pork products.
Like He, Li Linghui, who runs the supermarket, is another young returnee. After working away from home for years, she had built up solid business experience. At the urging of the former village Party secretary, she invested in the village's collective company.
"I wanted to do my part to help drive the village's development," Li said. "I felt it was a meaningful thing to do, so I came back."
Before the rural revitalization efforts, the village's collective revenue stood at barely 200,000 yuan in 2023. It exceeded 430,000 yuan in 2024 and jumped to 570,000 yuan last year.
"Our principle is to provide support without overstepping, and to assist without taking over," Yan said. The resident task force, he explained, aims to help the village build its own industries and leave behind a development model that can sustain itself over the long run.
As collective revenue has grown, the village's public spaces have also undergone a quiet transformation. In recent years, Jieshang has built new facilities including a cultural square, a basketball court and a circular walking path. When night falls, the square is brightly lit. Local children gather there and sing revolutionary songs, their young, clear voices echoing through the mountains.
"Every time I see this scene, I'm deeply moved," Yan said. "Isn't this exactly the legacy our revolutionary forebears wanted to leave behind?" ■
Yan Jiayun, the first Party secretary stationed in Jieshang Village, briefs college students in front of the "Red Village Supermarket" in Jieshang Village of Gaopo Township, Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province, July 11, 2026. (Xinhua)