Introduction
Looking through a window, you could see what you expect or you might see something unexpected.
Window of Yuanyang provides a view from both sides.
Yuanyang county is located in Honghe Prefecture, south of the Honghe River in Yunnan province, southwest China. The county is 2,190 square kilometers in size and has a population of around 370,000 people, of whom more than 88% are ethnic minorities including the Hani, Yi, Dai, Miao, Yao and Zhuang. The cultures and traditions of these ethnic groups have been well preserved. Yuanyang is a mountainous area and the climate varies greatly with the altitude. Yuanyang is famous for its unique scenery with Hani terraced paddy fields, its sea of clouds and the concentration of different ethnic minority people wearing colorful costumes
Although most mainstream tourists do not yet know Yuanyang, there has been a steady increase of visitors in recent years, and this is expected to rise as people discover what Yuanyang has to offer. Tourism is a much-needed potential source of income for the local villagers, however they currently are rarely the ones who benefit from this influx. How can tourism be developed while protecting the fragile environment, preserving the local cultures and increasing the income of the local people?
These are the issues Window of Yuanyang seeks to address with its new “Sustainable-tourism” project, aimed at helping ethnic minority villagers draw on tourism to increase their incomes and celebrate and maintain their unique cultures while protecting their environment. By providing appropriate training and support to villagers, We seeks to help them increase their income by delivering quality services to tourists. This sustainable-tourism project includes language and technical training for local guides and small business owners in Yuanyang county town, and also training and support to villagers to provide meals and accommodation to visitors and to develop and sell local handicrafts. The project also includes training on environmental issues such as rubbish management and activities to promote environmental awareness at different levels.