Design Approach and Method for Rural Homestays

Rural tourism in China has been gaining popularity in recent years, as more and more people seek a break from the fast-paced city life to reconnect with nature and learn about rural culture. With its abundance of natural resources and rich cultural heritage, China’s countryside offers a unique travel experience that is attracting an increasing number of visitors.

One of the most popular forms of accommodation for rural tourism in China is homestays. These are small-scale lodgings run by local families, offering visitors the chance to experience authentic rural life while enjoying comfortable accommodations.

Designing homestays in rural China requires a thoughtful approach that takes into account the needs of both guests and the local community. The first step is to understand the local culture and traditions, as well as the natural environment. This includes researching the history and customs of the region, as well as the local flora and fauna.

The next step is to design the homestay itself. When designing a homestay in rural China, it is important to create a space that blends seamlessly into the natural surroundings. This can be achieved through the use of locally sourced materials and traditional building techniques. For example, using timber and stone, or incorporating a courtyard design that allows for natural light and ventilation, can help create a rustic and comfortable atmosphere.

In addition to the physical design, it is also important to consider the services and activities that will be offered to guests. In rural China, this might include guided hikes or bike tours, cooking classes featuring local cuisine, or cultural performances. These activities provide visitors with a unique and immersive experience that allows them to connect with the local community and culture.

Another key consideration is sustainability. Homestays should be designed and operated in a way that minimizes their impact on the environment and supports the local economy. This might include using solar panels for electricity, composting toilets to reduce water usage, or sourcing food and other materials locally.

Ultimately, successful homestays in rural China are those that provide guests with a unique and authentic travel experience, while also supporting the local community and protecting the environment. Through thoughtful design and responsible operation, homestays can help promote sustainable rural tourism in China and provide visitors with an unforgettable travel experience.



Homestays, although small, are a lever for current tourism supply-side reform and rural development. Due to their small size, flexibility, and beauty, they are more likely to attract a large number of small and medium-sized capital investments and operators, activate a large amount of idle resources in society, and create diversified experiential products that are small yet refined, beautiful, and unique.

As national income increases, vacation opportunities multiply, the diversity of rural landscapes expands, and the trend of leisure tourism rises, rural areas can offer not only vacant rooms in self-use housing but also the reuse of idle agricultural facilities as accommodation and experiential facilities. Along with the development of agro-tourism, they can provide urbanites with places to relax and relieve stress, making it a win-win situation.

On the one hand, homestays provide tourists with an alternative to hotels and motels, offering a warm and homey atmosphere that is markedly different from normal lodging. They also attract people who want to experience local customs and culture up close. The popularity of guesthouses and homestays has made it necessary to display personality and characteristics in the social realm.

The significance of homestay development

The current trend of homestay development reflects changing urban (tourist) demands, satisfies new demands in contemporary leisure and holiday markets, and meets the new appeals of rural (tourism) development, fulfilling multiple appeals, such as structural reforms in supply-side, rural construction, encouraging small and medium-sized investment, innovation, and entrepreneurship.From a tourism perspective

With the development of transportation and the popularization of self-driving cars, self-drive tours, deep travel, free travel, and experiential travel have become popular trends. Homestays, based on knowledge economy, and relying on natural ecological environments, cater to the needs of tourists for free experiences that incorporate homestay design values.From an economic perspective

Homestays enhance the rural economy and good homestay designs can be a powerful driver of rural economic structural transformation, increasing farmers' income and driving the overall industry chain.From a cultural perspective

The development of homestays is beneficial for exploring and preserving local culture, history, and natural ecologies. Through modern cultural creativity, local cultures and customs are extended and inherited. Homestay design can also reshape the charm and cultural competitiveness of rural areas.From a social perspective

Homestay design is a bridge that carries modern urban civilization genes to rural areas, catering to modern people's interests, dreams, lifestyle concepts, and aesthetic needs. It promotes the improvement of farmers' quality, changes their way of life, and elevates rural social values. Therefore, the development of homestays will become a new grip for the integrated development of eco-agriculture and tourism.


Design purposes and principles of rural homestays: Design purposes:To address the current imbalance between urban and rural areas, sharing space and facilitating diverse cultural exchange.
To promote employment and improve the quality of material and spiritual life.
To return to nature and live in harmony with nature.
To have sustainable development significance.

Design principles of rural homestays:Respect for nature - every place has its unique natural environment and resource endowment.
Respect for humanity - space is born out of people.
Respect for the market - norms in management processes.
Sustainability - giving life to space.

Characteristics of rural homestay design:

Regional and local features - the landscape planning and design of rural homestays should reflect their regional and cultural characteristics. Local elements should be utilized fully to maintain the authenticity of rural resources and create a rural image. The use of traditional local architectural styles and vegetation, the preservation of the existing rural landscape, and encouragement measures to maintain local agricultural ecological civilization are essential. Moreover, local customs, folklore, festivals, arts and crafts, such as tea art, bamboo art, painting, sculpture, and sericulture history, are all important components of rural cultural life and can be designed to enhance the regional and cultural characteristics of rural homestays' landscapes.


Comprehensive nature - the landscape design of rural homestays needs to adopt a multidisciplinary approach to consider and design them as a whole. This will achieve the coordinated development of tourism functions and ecological environments, realizing their optimal utilization. Special attention should be paid to the planting of native rural plants in the courtyard and surroundings to create an overall environmental atmosphere.

Agricultural experiential - rural homestay landscape provides tourists with an important carrier for experiencing rural life and agriculture. In the design, respect for local rural agricultural landscapes protects historical rural features to enable them to become authentic rural farms. Moreover, providing agricultural-related scenic spots and courses can offer visitors a comprehensive agricultural experience.

Ecological naturalness - rural homestay landscape design emphasizes natural beauty, ecological harmony, aesthetic harmony, and the integration of the environment to reduce artificial modification of landscapes. The design should focus on the natural agricultural scenery of the countryside, such as terraced terrain, colorful hybrid forests, wildflowers on country paths, moss-covered stones at village entrances, and wooden fences. Appropriate planning and design of artistic ecology will create an excellent rural atmosphere. Borrowing from idyllic pastoral scenery, visitors can enjoy the colorful fields, beautiful farmland, rolling hills, winding streams, lush forests, and vaguely visible villages by setting up viewing platforms and low walls to appreciate the rural scenery outside the garden.

Considerations for rural homestay design: In rural homestay design, space and buildings should be preserved, renovated, or demolished based on actual conditions.

Preserve:

Buildings with a sense of historical era that are relatively intact; traditional courtyard structures with complete spatial layouts; functional and structurally sound dwellings; exquisitely crafted historic components and valuable ancient building components that cannot be restored; pleasant spatial scales; and a strong sense of life.

Renovate:

Dwellings with unclear structural designs and unreasonable functional designs; facades of some street-side buildings can be renovated to introduce certain functions (such as commercial and leisure activities); residual components can be diversified through landscape design or collected in exhibition halls on the site; and abandoned sites without value can be used as leisure and entertainment spaces.

Demolish:

Buildings that cannot be repaired, renovated or are idle; and illegally constructed buildings.

Key points of rural homestay landscape design:

Orderly space and year-round scenery: In the spatial design of rural homestay landscapes, vertical space can be divided into different levels by designing different trees, shrubs, and ground-covering plants. The combination of different elements such as flowers, plants, paths, and other elements in horizontal space design can make the landscape more natural and beautiful. Moreover, the design should not only consider the needs of one season but rather analyze each season specifically to ensure that there are no barren scenes in any season. When selecting plant species, the diversity and variations of flowers and trees during autumn and winter should also be considered to create landscape scenery throughout the year.


Rational function and perfect form: In rural homestay landscape design, various functional needs should be considered, such as placing agricultural tools, rotating space, grain drying space, and space for poultry and livestock activities. Specific attention should be paid to functionality to design suitable aesthetic forms, such as planting medium-sized trees that can be used for shading, drying grain support structures, and clotheslines. Additionally, due to the characteristics of rural homestays, 1-2 medium-to-small-sized fruit trees, such as persimmon, peach, and pear trees, can also be planted in homestay courtyards to increase economic benefits.

Multifaceted and natural beauty: Rural homestay landscape design should first and foremost have functional appropriateness. Landscaping should be suitable for functionality and not blindly pursue high, large, or abstract individual features. Secondly, the form should be appropriate and harmonious with the functional design, forming a harmony between the objective and visual experience. Finally, it should be aesthetically appropriate, satisfying aesthetic needs in addition to functional and formal requirements. In rural homestay landscape design, aesthetic beauty should be primarily reflected in natural beauty. Natural beauty is what people seek and expect from the experience of rural homestay landscapes.

Using local resources and innovative utilization:

In homestay landscape design, designers should consider the actual needs of farmers and use the principle of being the cheapest, most convenient, and most economical as a starting point for landscape design.

Local resources can be used to beautify landscapes; for example, unsightly and lifeless lime or mud brick walls can be decorated or blocked using flower walls or green hedges. Vining vegetables and fruits such as loofah, gourds, and cucumbers can be guided using simple and elegant wooden trellises.

Additionally, using recyclable waste from daily life is also an excellent design idea. Bottles and jars from discarded waste materials can be used as raw materials to make the best flower pots, courtyard pieces, wall decorations, and more in rural homestay landscape design.

As long as designers have a creative mindset and are good at innovatively utilizing rural materials, sustainable rural homestay landscapes that are low-carbon, environmentally friendly, and economical will emerge.

In summary, although homestays are small, they are leveraged as a driving force for current tourism supply-side reform and rural development. Due to their small size, lightness, and beauty, they are more likely to attract a large number of social small and medium-sized capital, numerous investment operators, and activate a large amount of idle resources in society, creating diverse and high-quality experiential products. While stimulating and leading new demands for tourism and leisure, they create livable, visitable, and business-friendly rural communities, revitalizing rural areas, continuing local culture and lifestyles, enhancing cultural confidence and life confidence, transforming people's value concepts about rural life, and driving the development of more rural communities, allowing cities and rural areas to interact positively and sustainably. Therefore, the social significance of homestay development far exceeds its economic value.

"Homestays Plus": Creating a New Living Space

Rural homestays are undoubtedly an invention of modern urbanites, and a fashionable product that meets the leisure and vacation needs of current urban residents under extremely prosperous material and cultural living conditions. Since homestays are established in relatively underdeveloped rural areas, there will inevitably be collisions between old and new cultures, ideas, and consciousness, which will lead to a series of upgrades and iterations in forms and formats, from ancient to modern, from vulgar to refined, from rural to urban, from food to lodging, from mass to high-end, from local specialty to cultural and creative products.

Development stages of homestays - from individual to cluster to integrated homestays

Looking back at homestays in China, they have experienced a leapfrog development in both quantity and quality over the past decade, evolving from 1.0 era farmhouse-style bed and breakfasts (B&Bs), 2.0 era youth hostels and guesthouses, 3.0 era premium boutique homestays for leisure travelers, to the current 4.0 era, which emphasizes personalized products and high-end experiences.

In the budding period (1.0 era), homestays appeared first in economically developed coastal areas. At that time, the concept of "homestays" simply referred to farmers renting out part of their living quarters to tourists as accommodation facilities.

During the transitional period (2.0 era), with the improvement of people's consumption levels, many people began to enjoy staying in summer resorts and vacation villas. Owners of these properties began to learn hotel management skills and upgrade their facilities to include standard rooms, air conditioning, and showers. This marked a clear distinction between 2.0 era homestays and the earlier 1.0 era farmhouse B&Bs. Many family-run guesthouses also emerged during this stage, converting idle houses into accommodations for tourists.

In the high-speed development period (3.0 era) after 2007, the middle class became the main consumer group for homestays in China. They had higher requirements for the quality of their accommodation, were more likely to take vacations than business trips, and needed periodic family vacation activities. These demands led to the development of high-end homestays in China, with Yunnan and Zhejiang being key areas.

The rise of social media platforms such as Weibo in 2009 and WeChat in 2011 accelerated the spread of word-of-mouth recommendations for homestays. This, coupled with the emergence of a group of popular Internet celebrities, contributed to the growth of large-scale homestay clusters in many areas, particularly the Moganshan area of Zhejiang province and the Yemaoling area of Pujiang county.

In the current 4.0 era, homestays are no longer limited to traditional architectural forms. They not only embody local cultural characteristics but also reflect artistic refinement. The buildings are more environmentally friendly, and location selection requirements are becoming increasingly strict. Homestays in this era will incorporate many artistic design elements, offering personalized products and high-end experiences that appeal to people's curiosity.

Homestays in the 4.0 era combine the features of the 3.0 era, providing a vacation art experience that expands horizons and focuses on spiritual growth. With the promotion of "all-for-one tourism" in China, homestays will be deeply integrated with downstream industries such as scenic spots, catering, leisure, socializing, health, and elderly care, forming an ecological park for the industry. In the future, the fusion of multiple scenarios under the "homestays plus" model will become more prevalent and extend to fields such as study tours, cultural and creative products, sightseeing agriculture, and even technology, creating multi-scenario, multi-theme, and multi-group development and application.

Typical examples: Yellow River Suji Homestay Cluster.




The concept of integrated homestays (suji)

Integrated homestays, or suji, are a new type of accommodation concept that is not simply a grouping of several individual homestays, but rather a homestay cluster created by several homestay brands working together. Through resource integration, activating industry formats, and reshaping local culture, suji can activate historical heritage and natural landscapes from different perspectives, forming a cluster effect greater than the sum of its parts. This makes suji a high-quality homestay cluster with strong cohesion.

The small scale of individual homestays limits their ability to leverage government resources. However, the resource integration, brand aggregation, market linkage sales force, and special support services of suji make it possible to create an entire industrial chain and overcome the bottleneck of homestay expansion and chain development. Suji reduces the risk of homestay development while achieving resource sharing and maximizing benefits.

For example, the Yellow River Suji integrates five top-end homestay brands: Feinao Collection, Xipo, Xuli Wilderness, DaLe Zhiye, and South Bank, positioning itself as China's most high-end resort destination. Homestay clusters also create many non-guest room content ecosystems, breaking through the revenue ceiling of homestays through secondary consumption markets and creating a fusion business format for homestay clusters.

Homestays as an effective entry point for rural tourism

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Developing rural tourism based on rich red cultural resources and green ecological resources, and revitalizing rural economies, is a good practice for reviving rural areas." As an effective entry point for developing rural tourism, rural homestays have great potential.

Homestays and rural areas are closely linked. As homestays become the entry point for rural revitalization, they can attract more young people back to rural areas, redirecting urban tourists to rural areas, revitalizing the countryside and creating a new urban-rural interaction. Homestays, as the intermediary link, not only bring in more homestay tourists but also drive non-standard homestay tourism groups, promoting cross-industry events.

The development of rural homestays corresponds to modern people's pursuit of getting away from the hustle and bustle, getting close to nature, and exploring nostalgia, playing a pivotal role in promoting rural tourism.

Attracting Strong Investment, Nurturing Excellence, Creating Buzz, and Shaping the Soul of Homestays

Homestays are a sub-category of the traditional accommodation industry, with low entry barriers and high homogeneity. Regulatory authorities can consider introducing mid- to high-end brands and exploring local characteristics to promote industry standardization while breaking the deadlock of investor protection through the use of external mid- to high-end brands. By leveraging these brands, local homestay operators can improve their products and service concepts, promoting healthy competition and further enhancing regional advantages. Cooperation with domestic and international renowned homestay creative agencies, operating and management institutions, and marketing planning agencies should also be strengthened to attract precise investment and brand partnerships, focusing on developing a group of premium homestays with nationwide influence.

To nurture excellence, it is essential to guide homestays towards becoming refined, high-quality, and high-end. We should focus on cultivating rural homestay tourism destinations and demonstration sites, boosting local tourism economic development, and satisfying the demands of high-end consumers for quality and premium travel experiences. The enterprise leaders should drive resident self-employment development, promote the clustering development of homestays and tourism industries based on the utilization of local idle resources, and form homestay industry clusters to increase market share.

In creating buzz, innovative promotional methods and diverse channels should be employed to tell the story of homestays, advance homestay brand internationalization and image building. Leveraging high-quality influencing resources and professional marketing or operation institutions in the homestay field, we should establish dedicated homestay promotion agencies, fully utilizing big data, artificial intelligence, cloud services, and other technological means to plan and implement mobile internet-based strategies, expand regional brand influence, and enhance market visibility.

The soul of homestays lies in culture. Uniqueness and attraction stem from distinct cultural features. Regarded as one of the most sentimental tourism investment projects, homestays will lose their essence if they neglect deep-rooted, authentic culture. A distinct cultural feature can effectively enhance the added value of homestay products and enrich consumer experience. In developing the homestay economy, we should not only comply with national standards but also create local landmarks by thoroughly examining local resources, digging into cultural connotations, and realizing "cultural presentation." We should increase awareness of cultural integration in planning and design, architectural design, functional design, visual design, appearance design, color design, business format planning, service design, and industrial chain expansion. Top-notch design concepts and architectural presentations, rich humanistic activities, and more refined services can promote differentiated homestay development, explore suitable ways to integrate colorful regional cultures into homestays' details, and enhance the overall homestay experience. Additionally, we should actively introduce creative talents with relevant experiences, deeply excavate regional characteristics, develop customized services for each node, and further showcase local culture, charm, and unique features.




Collaboration

Efforts should be made to support key industries and extended industries related to the development of the homestay economy, such as leisure agriculture, forestry, fisheries, health maintenance, culture, transportation, commerce, logistics, etc. We should cultivate a batch of "homestay+" integrated economic formats, develop "homestay+ experience," "homestay+ specialty products," "homestay+ exhibition," and "homestay+ cultural creativity," etc., increase the proportion of non-accommodation revenue in homestay revenue, inject new vitality into premium homestays, and improve the economic benefits of the homestay industry.

Zhejiang Homestays: From Brutal Growth to Standing Alone

In Zhejiang Province, China, homestays have grown rapidly over the past few years. In 2015, there were only about 1000 homestays in Zhejiang, but by 2020, that number had exceeded 50,000. This rapid development has caused problems such as uneven quality, a lack of regulation, and even illegal operations.

However, some homestay owners have been able to stand out from the crowd and establish themselves in the industry. They have invested in the quality of their properties, provided unique experiences for guests, and maintained responsible operations.

One such example is the "Dujuanshan Art House" in Moganshan, Deqing County, which offers a tranquil environment and artistic atmosphere. The owner, Wu Jun, renovated an old house and turned it into an art gallery and homestay. He also provides his guests with opportunities to learn about traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy.

Another successful homestay is the "Haifeng Yunge" in Ninghai County, which offers a seaside getaway with a unique cultural experience. The owner, Lin Xiuzhen, preserves the local culture by providing guests with access to traditional fishing methods and seafood cuisine.

These examples show that despite the challenges faced by the homestay industry in Zhejiang, there are still opportunities for success with thoughtful planning, investment, and commitment to quality and authenticity.




Homestays are a way for travelers to experience local life in depth, while for locals, they are a sunrise industry that taps into the value of rural areas and creates jobs and wealth. With a series of favorable policies, the homestay industry is experiencing a new wave of development. Recently, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the National Standardization Management Committee jointly issued the "Basic Requirements and Classification of Tourist Homestays" (GB/T 41648-2022) national standard. The "national standard", which was developed by experts organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism over five years of in-depth research and discussions throughout the country, provides a powerful reference for tourism management departments and operators and an effective consumer guide for tourists, promoting the high-quality development of China's homestay industry.

The drafting units of the "national standard" include the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, and the Zhejiang Tourism Vocational College. As one of its main drafting units, we have deep feelings and many experiences when looking back on the birth process of the "national standard". Around 2010, homestays as a new type of tourist accommodation emerged in various parts of the country, but most of them were operated by operators using their own homes, and they generally faced problems such as incomplete policies and regulations in land use, public safety, fire protection, and sanitation. On April 25, 2013, the "Tourism Law of the People's Republic of China" was promulgated, which clearly stated that "the management measures for urban and rural residents to use their own housing or other conditions to engage in tourism operations shall be formulated by provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government." This provided a basis for the legal development of homestays and authorized localities to formulate their own management measures, encouraging them to explore and innovate, and providing a broad stage for the standardized, scaled, and branded development of homestays in Zhejiang.

After that, the tourism authorities in Zhejiang cooperated with public security, fire protection, market supervision, construction and other departments to conduct in-depth research on homestays in various places, while compiling the "Basic Requirements and Evaluation of Homestays" local standards and promoting local legislation.

On September 25, 2015, the "Zhejiang Provincial Tourism Regulations" were promulgated, which put forward for the first time that "urban and rural residents are encouraged to use their own housing or other conditions to start homestays. Relevant departments should issue relevant business licenses to those who meet the conditions." In December 2016, the General Office of the People's Government of Zhejiang Province timely issued the "Guiding Opinions on Determining the Scope and Conditions of Homestays", and the public security, industry and commerce, food and drug supervision and other departments also promptly followed up with policies, clarifying the process and escorting the development of homestays. In less than a year, more than 10,000 tourist homestays obtained special industry permits and legal operating status, breaking through the problem of the legalization of homestay operations at the provincial level for the first time.

With the effectiveness of local exploration becoming apparent, the national standard for homestays was accelerated. The former National Tourism Administration led research and discussions in each province, solicited opinions from multiple dimensions, and perfected and revised the first industry standard for homestays in China, the "Basic Requirements and Evaluation of Tourist Homestays" (LB/T 065-2017), which was published on August 15, 2017. At the same time, the application for the standardization of tourist homestays was included in the third batch of national standard revision plans for 2017 by the National Standardization Management Committee.

In the same year, Zhejiang further explored and innovated, issuing local standards, formulating evaluation rules, organizing expert teams, and launching the first batch of graded homestay evaluations. According to the stricter "Basic Requirements and Evaluation of Homestays" local standard, a total of 122 graded homestays were selected, including platinum, gold, and silver levels, setting a demonstration benchmark for the quality improvement of homestays throughout the province.

From weak to strong, from no standards to standards, innovation has been the thread running through it all. Bold experimentation and action in local areas, combined with the "streamlining administration and delegating power" at the national level, have given birth to today's homestay "national standard", which will undoubtedly play an unprecedented role in promoting the industry's development.

It must be seen that in the rapid development of tourist homestays, there are also many problems and hidden dangers. The first is the problem of "ownerless" homestays. The "national standard" clearly states that "tourist homestays must be owned, leased or authorized by the operators themselves." It requires that operators should have legal ownership of the property, and obtain relevant approval documents, such as land use certificates, building permits, business licenses, etc. This will help to avoid the phenomenon of "ownerless" homestays, which may pose risks to tourists' personal and property safety.

The second is the problem of quality control. To promote the high-quality development of the homestay industry, the "national standard" sets strict requirements for the hardware facilities, service quality, hygiene and safety, environmental protection, and cultural characteristics of tourist homestays. Operators should strictly implement the standards and regulations, and provide tourists with safe, comfortable, and personalized accommodation experiences. Meanwhile, competent authorities should strengthen supervision and inspection, and crack down on illegal activities such as false publicity, overcharging, and poor service quality.

The third is the problem of sustainable development. The homestay industry should follow the principles of ecological conservation, resource conservation, and environmental protection, and strive to achieve sustainable development. The "national standard" emphasizes the importance of protecting natural resources, cultural heritage, and local customs, and encourages operators to adopt eco-friendly and low-carbon measures in their operation and management.

In conclusion, the issuance of the "Basic Requirements and Classification of Tourist Homestays" (GB/T 41648-2022) national standard marks a new stage in the development of China's homestay industry. It is expected to promote the standardized, healthy, and sustainable development of the industry, improve the quality of tourism services, enhance the competitiveness of rural tourism destinations, and enrich the cultural experience of tourists. However, the implementation of the standard still faces many challenges and requires the joint efforts of all parties to achieve success.

03 From Emerging Industry to Shared Prosperity Industry In recent years, Zhejiang has always adhered to the principle of government guidance and market entities, and in accordance with the requirements of high-quality development, regards shared prosperity as the fundamental direction and continuous income increase of farmers as the fundamental task. Local governments have issued more than 200 documents and adopted various policies to promote the development of homestays. With the deepening of all-for-one tourism and the accelerating construction of beautiful countryside, it has provided a solid ecological foundation and fertile development soil for the development of tourism homestays. Faced with the impact of the epidemic, Zhejiang released and implemented the local standard "Basic Requirements and Evaluation of Homestays," formulated the three-year action plan (2020-2022) for improving the quality of rural homestays in Zhejiang Province, established the first provincial tourism homestay industry association in China, promoted the pilot reform of "homestays (farmhouse inns) assisting rural revitalization" in Zhejiang Province, developed a dynamic management system for homestays, publishes an annual homestay "blue book", cultivates cultural-themed (non-heritage) homestays, carries out micro-upgrades and improvements for homestay transformation, launches "Ten Million Red Envelope Tour in Zhejiang" and 519 homestay special sales livestreaming, and deeply cooperates with sales platforms to help homestay owners broaden their marketing channels and increase customer sources, etc., forming a series of combinations. The homestay industry has undergone multidimensional leapfrog development from an overlooked, non-scale emerging industry to a sunrise industry that rejuvenates rural areas, narrowing the urban-rural gap and promoting common prosperity.

Zhejiang has become a pioneer, innovator, and model for the development of homestays. Nearly 20,000 homestays are registered in the province's public security system, of which 96.5% hold special industry licenses, with a total of more than 300,000 beds, driving nearly 200,000 employment opportunities. Through five years of standard guidance, the province has evaluated a total of 858 homestays, including 52 platinum-rated, 138 gold-rated, and 668 silver-rated homestays, as well as 40 cultural-themed homestays, including 12 non-heritage homestays. Homestays of different types and characteristics are scattered throughout ancient towns, villages, high mountains, and islands, becoming windows and spokespersons for telling good stories about the beautiful rural life in Zhejiang.

04 From "Zhewei Yangfan" to Opening a New Chapter Since the reform and opening up, there have been few influential national standards in China's accommodation industry. It is evident that the national standard "Classification and Evaluation of Tourism Hotels Star Rating" has been issued, and for more than 30 years, it has promoted the development of China's hotel industry, ushering in one wave after another of peaks. Tourist star-rated hotels have always led the development direction of the industry, while also promoting the comprehensive improvement of the industry's quality and gaining broad social recognition of service levels, making tourist star-rated hotels the earliest and most widely influential service brand in the minds of Chinese consumers. Looking back on the development process of China's star-rated hotels, we can profoundly feel that the first "national standard" for tourism homestays has extraordinary significance for the overall development of the tourism homestay industry. It will enable government industry regulators to grasp a direction with clear guidelines, help homestay owners improve their services according to specific clauses, provide consumers with discernible labels when choosing homestays, and provide work guidelines for operators, regulators, and investors, allowing China's services to take root in rural areas, helping homestays become a bright scenery line showcasing the beautiful rural life of China.

Currently, the "14th Five-Year Plan for Cultural Development" issued by the Central Committee and the State Council proposes to create a unique Chinese cultural tourism experience and "establish a national list of preferred rural homestays" and "rationalize the management system for tourist accommodation such as hotels and homestays"; the "14th Five-Year Plan for Tourism Industry Development" clearly stated that it will "optimize accommodation supply and support innovative development of characteristic homestays and theme hotels", and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and other 10 departments jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the High-quality Development of Rural Homestays"; the "14th Five-Year Plan for Tourism Industry Development in Zhejiang Province" also specifically pointed out that "it is necessary to accelerate the development of cluster, specialized, and industrialized homestays." Turning the page to zero and starting anew, setting sail toward a new journey, the release of the homestay national standard is not only an essential requirement for high-quality development, but also an innovative concept that keeps up with the times, and more importantly, it is an effective practice exploration. Looking to the future, Zhejiang must shoulder the mission of the times, taking the implementation of the homestay national standard as an opportunity, learning from the good practices of other provinces, benchmarking against standards, making plans before taking action, focusing on the integration and innovation of the homestay industry, systematized supply, quality experience, brand leadership, and shared driving, making homestays an important part of the "livable, enjoyable, prosperous, and colorful" "poetic dwelling" life landscape in rural areas, and making rural homestays a cultural tourism golden name card with Zhejiang characteristics.

With the wind in our sails, we are embarking on a new journey. The development of homestays can provide more and more tourists with poetic travel experiences, help local people create a beautiful life, and realize the vision of rural revitalization. We have reason to believe that tomorrow's tourism homestays will be even better.