Tourism transforms Dong village

"In recent years, more and more people are visiting Zhaoxing for its ethnic cultural characteristics. Many guests are particularly keen to take photos against the background of our village's blue-tiled roofs and clusters of stilt houses," she said.

According to Ying, the scenery in Zhaoxing is completely different by day and night, citing the drum towers as an example. "When they are lit up at night, we feel like the light inside our hearts is shining too. I believe our culture is the soul that attracts tourists," Ying said.

As China advances rural vitalization, Zhaoxing Dong village is leveraging its rich cultural heritage to boost its economic development and promote rural vitalization to enrich the villagers.

Lu Donghui is a prefectural-level inheritor of intangible cultural heritage in making musical instruments of the Dong people, such as the Dong pipa, a four-stringed instrument, and niutuiqin, a stringed musical instrument with a shape resembling a cow's leg.

In 2017, Lu returned to his hometown and established a workshop to make instruments. At first, the workshop's annual income was less than 30,000 yuan.

Over the years, his workshop has gained recognition, with orders coming from other provincial regions. The workshop's instruments are very popular among the Dong ethnic population in Guizhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and Hunan province.

Last year, his annual income exceeded 360,000 yuan, with sales volume reaching 100,000 yuan during the Spring Festival holiday.