The Beauty of Countryside | Dong'ao Village in Dongtou: Fishing Village Diebian Scenic Area Fishermen's Folk Customs of "Turning Sand into Gold" | Dong'ao Village | Fishing Village

At the southern end of Dongtou District, Wenzhou City, there is a village called Dong'ao, where "the sea is heavy and the sky is white, and the mountains on all sides shine towards dawn.". Hundreds of years ago, the people of Fujian settled here for fishing and gradually built a beautiful and quaint small fishing village.

In recent years, the local government has continued to beautify Dong'ao Village, achieving diversified development from a single fishing industry to the integration of fishing and tourism. The fishermen washed their feet and set up a homestay restaurant at their doorstep, achieving full employment.

In order to tell the story of the transformation of rural areas in Zhejiang since the 20th anniversary of the implementation of the "88 Strategy", the Chao News client recently launched the "Zhejiang Village Super Material" global short video collection activity, working together with eleven cities in Zhejiang to explore the "material" achievements in rural areas.

Recently, a journalist from Chao News visited Dong'ao Village in Dongtou District, Wenzhou City to uncover the "informative" stories here.

Dong'ao Village in Dongtou

Beautify the village environment

Fishermen "wash their feet and go ashore"

Dong'ao Village is very small, with a land area of only over 500 acres. It only takes more than 10 minutes to circle around the village. Due to its location by the sea, villagers built houses with stones for flood prevention and typhoon resistance, and the houses were also very close together. Therefore, there is a saying that "the road is like a waistband, covered with tiles and stones.".

Although the area is small, Dong'ao Village is very exquisite, with golden beaches everywhere, homestays facing the sea, and ancient alleys with a long history, which occasionally surprise visitors.

In the past, this was just a closed small fishing village, where villagers made a living by fishing and their income was not high. In 2017, the restoration of Dong'ao Beach was included as one of the key projects for the renovation of Dongtou Blue Bay, and the village underwent a transformation.

"In recent years, from the rectification of the bay, to the construction of the garden village, and then to the future village development, we have transformed from a small fishing village into a popular check-in spot and tourist attraction, and become a top ranked village in Dongtou District." Hong Qiuwei, Secretary and Director of the Dong'ao Village Party Branch, told Chao News reporters.

The fishing village has transformed into a garden, bringing in a large number of tourists. The clever people of Dong'ao Village began to "wash their feet and go ashore" and "turn sand into gold". The golden beach by the sea is the biggest highlight of Dong'ao Village, and there is a row of houses facing the sea next to the beach, most of which have been converted into homestays and fishing homes.

"In Time" Homestay

The Chao News reporter followed a small path by the beach and turned into a homestay called "Time in". Hong Lihao, the owner of the "90s generation", was operating a drone and taking advantage of the good weather to capture the intoxicating scenery of the homestay and its surroundings. He posted it on social media to attract more customers.

"I used to work in interior design, but later opened this homestay. The decoration style was designed by myself because I also have a good understanding of this industry." Hong Lihao told reporters that after several years of operation, the business has been getting better and better, and he has accumulated many old customers. During the peak tourist season, the rooms are fully occupied.

Nowadays, tourism has become the pillar industry of Dong'ao. As of now, about 80% of the labor force in Dong'ao Village is engaged in rural tourism. The number of fishing and homestays has increased from 16 to 105, directly driving the employment of more than 700 villagers. The average annual income per household has reached 200000 yuan, achieving employment and prosperity for the people at their doorstep.

The village collective economy has also achieved income growth, increasing from 30000 yuan per year to 1.2 million yuan. The direct economic income generated by the development of tourism in the village is nearly 60 million yuan, and the rural tourism industry has become the most important source of income for the village.

Tourists taking photos and checking in at the seaside

Strengthening tourism brands

Enriching and developing business formats

There are two ancient lanes in Dong'ao Village, one is Qixi Ancient Lane and the other is Love Poem Lane, both of which are related to the traditional Chinese festival Qixi.

In this village, Qixi is not only Valentine's Day, but also Adult's Day. Whenever festivals come, a large-scale adult worship ceremony is held here for 16-year-old children. Hong Qiuwei is the host of the ceremony, and he is also the inheritor of provincial intangible cultural heritage of Dongtou Qixi Adult Festival.

On that day, the children will wear Hanfu, accept the hanging decorations and blessings of the elders, pass through the adult gate, have a blessing banquet, and in the ceremony, shed their childishness from last year and declare themselves adults.

Since 2008, Dong'ao Village has organized eight consecutive Qixi Folk Custom Festivals, which show the Qixi Festival with the most local characteristics to tourists, so that tourists can deeply experience the folk culture of Qixi in the fishing village.

"While improving the village environment, we also integrate resources in folk customs, culture, and other aspects, hold various folk culture festivals, attract many tourists, and establish the Dong'ao tourism brand," said Hong Qiuwei.

As the influence of Dong'ao Village continues to increase, the commercial formats here are gradually becoming more diverse. Yu Luhang, the person in charge of Mantianxing Live E-commerce Gongfu Workshop, has relocated his live e-commerce business from Hangzhou to here.

Mantianxing Live E-commerce Gongfu Workshop Live Room

"In fact, the most important things to do in e-commerce are to have a unique geographical location, which can increase trust and endorsement. The second is a continuous source of goods, our sources are in the sea, unlike factories that need to prepare a lot of goods." Yu Luhang said.

After settling in Dong'ao Village, Yu Luhang hopes to bring the skill of e-commerce to local fishermen and tourism industry practitioners, empower their industries, and create an atmosphere for the development of live streaming e-commerce in the local area. "Scattered is a sky full of stars, gathered is a fire. We hope that the fire of e-commerce can spread to every corner of the cave," he said.

With the rise of emerging industries, this ancient fishing village is radiating more and more vitality.