A sightseeing elevator is installed at a homestay in Shuikou township in Huzhou. [Photo/Tide News]

Shuikou township in Changxing county, Huzhou, Zhejiang province, is bustling with tourists as spring blooms.

Visitors, mainly middle-aged and elderly individuals from the Yangtze River Delta, have been pleasantly surprised by the new convenience of elevators in homestays. These elevators save them the effort of carrying luggage upstairs.

Shuikou township, a popular rural tourism destination in northern Zhejiang, boasts 586 rural homestays and guesthouses, with 70 percent of its 4.23 million visitors in 2024 hailing from Shanghai.

To better accommodate elderly guests, Shuikou has partnered with various departments to launch a rural elevator construction and management initiative.

"Since installing the elevator, our room bookings have increased by 30 percent," said Ni Xuekun, a local homestay owner.

In addition to convenience, Shuikou township is innovating with "elevator sightseeing", integrating elevators into the tourism experience. Guests can enjoy panoramic views of bamboo forests and streams from a transparent elevator, culminating in a breathtaking terrace vista.

Currently, the area has 251 elevators installed in homestays, covering almost half of the total accommodations.