During the summer vacation, 27 boutique homestays in Longde county, Guyuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, experienced a peak in bookings.

Fuzi Yaju in Wenbao township, a homestay featuring Confucian culture, reported that it has all 12 rooms fully booked every weekend since July.

Meanwhile, Old Alley ancient village homestay retains the original ecological courtyard style of blue bricks and gray tiles. Tourists can follow villagers to the vegetable garden to pick fresh produce in the morning, and experience boiling tea around the stove.

The rising popularity of homestays is a microcosm of the county's transition from "transit tourism" to "overnight tourism". Previously, although the county was a popular destination, tourists stayed for less than half a day on average.

The Longzhu Mountain Starry Sky Inn in Longde county. [Photo/Ningxia Daily]

To change this situation, local investment has been made to renovate scenic area roads and parking lots, upgrade 65 tourist signs and the smart tourism system, and achieve full coverage of online booking and intelligent guidance.

At present, 27 boutique homestays with 414 guest rooms have been put into operation in the county. Jinse Inn has been rated as a national second-class tourist homestay.

Data showed the homestay industry has driven more than 300 locals to gain employment, with an average annual income increase of over 20,000 yuan ($2,965) per household.