Owner works to improve environment of tour site

Ayisham Ibulayin receives tourists in her grape yard, which is the largest of its kind in Turpan, a city in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. [Gao Bo/China Daily]

Ayisham Ibulayin runs the largest rural tour site in Turpan, a city in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Her property is located on the way to the Grape Valley scenic spot, a State-approved 5A site famous for the many varieties of grapes that have been planted there for hundreds of years.

"I put all my income into enlarging the scale (of the site) and improving the environment," said the 50-year-old. "That is why I am the largest tour site in the area."

Ayisham named her site "green pearl" after a variety of grape. The property now covers 1,670 square meters, as she has enlarged it by purchasing neighbors' yards.

The yards are covered in grapevines, which provide coolness for tourists in the city that is known in Chinese as the "flame-hot city". Visitors can freely pick grapes during the harvest season.

Ayisham can cater to about 300 tourists each day. There are some rooms available if visitors want to stay longer and learn more about the life and customs of the Uygur ethnic group.

"I earned 150,000 yuan ($24,000) last year from here and some income from my 5-mu (3,340-sq m) grape farm," Ayisham said. "The good policies (of the regional tourism bureau) and environment benefit me a lot."

The region saw an increasing number of visitors in the first quarter of the year despite it being a traditionally slow season for tourism.

During the quarter, Xinjiang had roughly 6.83 million tourists, including 240,000 overseas visitors, representing a nearly 10-percent hike from the same period the previous year, data from the regional tourism bureau showed.

Since March, however, the industry has suffered due to terrorist attacks in the region.

Such attacks worry Ayisham. "Xinjiang's tourism resources and facilities are both good now, but tourists won't come if terrorist attacks happen."

However, she said appreciated efforts the region has made tp promote tourism and is confident in her business.

She is applying for a five-star rural tour site certificate, which indicates a property is one of the best in the region.

A man surnamed Zhao was visiting the site from Nanjing, Jiangsu province, with his family to have lunch. "We want to drive across Xinjiang to experience the ethnic groups' culture and the beautiful scenery here," he said.