A road in Ninghai county, Ningbo, connects villages and popular tourist destinations. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Ningbo's Ninghai county has made great efforts to improve its rural road infrastructure in order to facilitate travel for locals and boost rural tourism.

To improve the traffic conditions and help locals make better use of the area's rich natural tourism resources and transport their produce to markets more quickly, Ninghai has invested 610 million yuan ($94.42 million) into the construction, repair and hardening of rural roads since 2018. So far, a total of 19 high-end routes at or above the city level have been built in the county, spanning 224 kilometers.

The roads link villages and major tourist destinations in the county, such as Qiantong Ancient Town, Lianghuang Mountain Scenic Spot and the Grand Canyon of East Zhejiang.

The better road connectivity makes it easier to pursue common prosperity, as many locals have opened tourism-related businesses such as minsus (a Chinese-style bed-and-breakfast homestay).