{"id":25477,"date":"2025-04-24T13:00:36","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T05:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/?p=25477"},"modified":"2025-04-24T13:00:38","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T05:00:38","slug":"transform-abandoned-rural-land-into-tourist-paradise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/2025\/04\/transform-abandoned-rural-land-into-tourist-paradise\/","title":{"rendered":"Transform abandoned rural land into tourist paradise"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Turning an abandoned mine into a viral \u00a568 million caf\u00e9, young people in China turn a remote village into a touristy spot.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Christine Ge<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After turning an abandoned Anji mine pit in Zhejiang Province into a cafe with a splendid natural view, the owner Cheng Shuoqin is now setting his eyes on an even bolder project by transforming a nearby forgotten landfill into a rural cultural park with inspiration from ancient oracle bone script.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In three years, the caf\u00e9 has earned RMB \u00a568 million (US $9.38 million) and serves as a \u201cphoto studio\u201d for thousands of visitors during weekends. All want to take a picture with a cup of coffee and magnificent scenery as the backdrop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During public holidays, visitors even need to queue for two hours to get into the caf\u00e9 to enjoy the best view and take the most stunning photos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The photo spot in Deep Blue Cafe where people queue up<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are trying to create a space that can connect people, nature, and emotions,\u201d Chen says, explaining why the caf\u00e9 is established on a once-abandoned quarry pit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople do not take a two-hour-long drive to a rural area simply for a cup of coffee. We turned our caf\u00e9 into a large outdoor photo studio, a place for young people to take beautiful photos that are liked and shared by their friends so that they feel more emotionally bonded,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By paying RMB \u00a568 (US $9.4), a customer can get a cup of coffee and a ticket to the fantastic view of the serene location. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
View from Deep Blue Cafe<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Yet Cheng\u2019s ultimate goal extends beyond profit, he aims to redefine rural China as a stage for youth innovation while reviving a forgotten landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 “There are countless neglected resources in the countryside. Through creativity, they can become attractions that draw millions of tourists to visit not just once, but a hundred times,” the 31-year-old owner says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the caf\u00e9 is now popular in China, Cheng is developing a bigger project, a series of cultural and tourism landmarks in the name of Deep Blue to promote his hometown, Anji County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the first moves is to transform an abandoned landfill, just a 30-minute drive away from Deep Blue Cafe, into a cultural park. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The Bookstore in Deep Blue Park (Photo courtesy of Deep Blue)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
The Building inspired by oracle character of \u201cAnji\u201d in Deep Blue Park
(Photo courtesy of Deep Blue)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the park, we have incorporated more cultural content such as a library, an art gallery, and a building inspired by the oracle characters of the word \u2018Anji’. We hope that through design and creativity, more people can see the beauty of this county,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cheng\u2019s caf\u00e9 and the future park are inspired by a trend that people long to \u201cescape the big cities\u201d after the pandemic in 2022, with more people flocking to rural areas for outdoor experiences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before being a caf\u00e9 owner, Cheng was a teacher in a Hangzhou elementary school for two years. He quit in 2021 as he realized he had no passion for teaching and could not stand the repetitive day-to-day life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in his hometown, Cheng started the caf\u00e9 business with a few friends. All of them were university graduates, and some were from Zhejiang University and Fudan University, who grew tired of city life.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 “Young people like me were craving escapes that blend nature with social connection,” he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Tourists in Deep Blue Cafe<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

With a tight budget, they wanted to get the caf\u00e9 unveiled within a short time once they obtained the government\u2019s approval. In just 18 days, they managed to welcome their first customer on the May Day holiday in 2022. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The officials and residents in Hongmiao Village, where the caf\u00e9 is located, offered lots of help.  They have established a profit-sharing model which they offer the caf\u00e9 the land in exchange for job opportunities and tourism revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The villagers and the village authorities take up 49 per cent of the caf\u00e9\u2019s share, whilst the caf\u00e9 owns 51 per cent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since its opening, the caf\u00e9 has quickly become viral on social media and has become a benchmark for rural revitalization programs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Deep Blue Cafe<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have received a lot of support, such as help from the local government and publicity from official media such as CCTV, which has made the caf\u00e9 more well-known to the public. We try to give back to local residents, such as providing jobs and profit opportunities in return,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAn old lady selling shaobing, a flaky round flatbread, outside of our caf\u00e9 earns up to RMB \u00a520,000 (US $2721) daily during peak seasons. Nearby villagers have opened restaurants too. They\u2019re happier when we\u2019re busy,\u201d Cheng notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As one of the rural entrepreneurship pioneers, Cheng is cautious about romanticizing having business in the countryside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cThe countryside is an arena, but don’t blindly plunge into entrepreneurship,\u201d he warns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He encourages graduates to explore diverse roles. \u201cYou can innovate agriculture, promote cultural heritage, or use tech to solve rural issues. We need thinkers, not just coffee sellers,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pointing out that people should explore opportunities not only in big cities but also in rural areas, Cheng says, \u201cIf we stop viewing the countryside as a \u2018Plan B\u2019 and start treating it as a canvas, young people can write entirely new stories here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edited by Angel Yu<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sub-edited by Yika Ng<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Turning an abandoned mine into a viral \u00a568 million caf\u00e9, young people in China turn a remote village into a touristy spot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":25492,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[79],"tags":[2259,245,2260,2261,1265,1845],"class_list":["post-25477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-cafe","tag-china","tag-countryside","tag-rural-area","tag-tourist","tag-young-people"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25477"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25477\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25499,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25477\/revisions\/25499"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}