Visitors enjoy a sea of sunflowers in Yucun, a village in Anji county, Zhejiang province. [Photo by Xiang Wenjian/chinadaily.com.cn] 

Huzhou has been spearheading the construction of "beautiful villages" in East China's Zhejiang province. 

In 2008, Huzhou's Anji county became the first to initiate a campaign to construct villages into rural scenic spots. The campaign has since been promoted across Zhejiang.

By the end of last year, all suitable villages in Huzhou had been transformed into scenic villages. In 2019 alone, the city received 43.78 million visitors for leisure agriculture and rural tourism, generating 7.15 billion yuan ($1.03 billion) in revenue, up by 58.5 percent year-on-year.

By the end of this year, the city plans to construct 280 beautiful villages.

More efforts will be made to integrate travel resources and attract more social capital to rural areas, said an official from the Huzhou municipal bureau of agriculture and rural affairs.