In east China's Zhejiang Province, Xinchuan village used to suffer from severe pollution from the huge number of battery manufacturing units in the area. In the 2000s, the local government decided to shut down or help transform some of these companies. In recent years, the change has brought opportunities for other industries. Our reporter Wu Bin finds out more. 

Forty-year-old Zhang Hong was born in this village in east China's Zhejiang Province. In 2018, he opened a homestay, something he couldn't imagine when he left the village 18 years ago.

ZHANG HONG "The homestay used to be a small bamboo-processing factory, and its wastewater was directly discharged into the river. It smelled really bad. If you asked me to rate the village back then, I would give just 20 out of 100. But the current village gets 95 points now. That's why I opened this homestay."

WU BIN "Now I understand the hype around this place. You have this exquisite garden, a swimming pool and most important of all, an amazing view of a bamboo forest in the mountains."

But that wasn't the case in the 2000s when many energy-consuming factories almost ruined the rivers.

ZHANG TIANREN Secretary, Xinchuan Village Committee "The entire village used to have over 30 factories. Only a dozen were left after we shut down and transformed polluting companies. Their numbers fell, but profits rose significantly."

As the mountains turned green again, the local government saw the region's scenery as a potential point for economic growth.

They had a plan aimed at attracting former residents to support village development. That's how Zhang Hong decided to come back and invest in a homestay.

ZHANG HONG "I talked to the village committee when I wanted to open the homestay and they totally agreed with the idea. The local government also offered me some subsidies."

ZHANG TIANREN Secretary, Xinchuan Village Committee "Getting former villagers back is very essential in promoting common prosperity. Some of them would have accumulated capital, information, skills or management experiences over the years. And we support their entrepreneurship when they come back because it will boost the local economy and create more job opportunities."

The village now has four homestays and another four are underway. Local officials say rural tourism brought in over 20 million yuan, or about 3.2 million US dollars, just last year. They say, in the future, investments will focus on public facilities and infrastructure to attract more tourists.

Wu Bin, CGTN, Zhejiang Province.