Azheke is located in the heart of the Honghe Hani Rice Terraces. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Surrounded by cascading rice terraces and verdant greenery, over 60 "mushroom cottages" with brick walls and thatched roofs are regarded by experts as the best-preserved cluster of Hani ethnic group traditional architecture in Yuanyang county, Yunnan province.

For more than 160 years, the tiny village named Azheke has been home to the Hani ethnic group, a name which matches its lush vegetation that means "a place where bamboo forests flourish" in the Hani language.

Spanning an area of 1.43 square kilometers with about 60 households, the village features a rich, diverse and layered landscape, with the coexistence of forests, water systems, houses and rice terraces.

However, the village struggled for a long time with poverty and faced the risk of losing its cultural heritage. Many young people left for education and work and some families moved away permanently.

In 2018, Bao Jigang, a professor at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, led a team and collaborated with Yuanyang county to develop the Azheke Plan, aiming to leverage local resources and vitalize the village.

"Among the 35 villages where we conducted in-depth field research, Azheke stood out with its well-protected traditions. The only way to alleviate poverty and preserve its authentic heritage is tourism development," Bao says.

A living community of Hani. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] 

The mission of this plan is to transform the entire village into a tourism project by establishing a tourism company, where the villagers hold a 70 percent stake and the government holds the remaining 30 percent to cover development costs.

Since launching the plan, all tourism revenue in the village has been made publicly transparent. This July, the 10th dividend distribution ceremony was held with record-breaking total dividends of 560,000 yuan ($77,300), an average payout of 8,600 yuan per household.

"Besides receiving dividends, I was also hired by the village tourism company, which gives me a monthly salary of more than 2,000 yuan," says villager Gao Meihua.

Dividend distribution meeting. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Villagers receiving their dividends. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A foreign tourist experiences the Hani culture. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A bird's-eye view of the village. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]