"My family can make 200,000-300,000 yuan each year, which puts us in the middle bracket," said Fan.
Ten years ago, Xuexiang Village received less than 3,000 tourists a year, now the number reaches 150,000, said Yu Zebo, head of the tourism bureau under the Forest Industry Bureau of Heilongjiang province. The annual output value has risen to 50 million yuan from less than 50,000 yuan in 10 years.
To Fan, people come to Xuexiang Village for the snow and the prestine environment. They can only make money in the long run when the environment is well protected.
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| A beautiful scenery in Xuexiang Village on Dec 18, 2015. (Photo / IC) |
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| Pine trees are covered in snow in Xuexiang Village on Jan 23, 2016. (Photo / IC) |
The local government has set up organizations to protect forest resources and formed forest fire prevention and rescue system. The Xuexiang Village hasn't seen a forest fire in 38 years.
In order to reduce the damage on the village by private cars, the government has banned outside cars from entering the village, and has provided 23 sightseeing buses instead. It has also imported six reindeer and five donkeys to transport goods.
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| Beautiful scenery in Xuexiang Village on Nov 11, 2016. (Photo / VCG) |
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| Trees are covered in snow in Xuexiang Village on Jan 23, 2016. (Photo / IC) |
