Sign up to receive monthly updates and special offers for Free!
A visit to a family in Inner Mongolia
Chinanews, Hohhot, Aug 8 – In the past, when Aodeng Gaowa, an Ewenki woman in Inner Mongolia, was herding the animals on the grassland, she could see lots of tourists, when passing by her yurt house, get off their vans and take a picture of the grassland by her summer tent. The scene had appeared every year. Seeing this, an idea sprang into her mind.
Now, when one visits the same place again, one will notice that an Ewenki woman has launched a family tour program for visitors. The tour was launched by Aodeng Gaowa a month ago. In her summer tent, tourists can spend a couple of nights at a Mongolian yurt house, milking the cows and herding the animals, just like any Mongolian does every day. They can even taste the various kinds of home-made dairy products at Aodeng Gaowa's home to experience the nomadic life of Ewenki people.
In fact, Aodeng Gaowa is just one of many Mongolian people who have launched such family tour programs. At present, many tourists are invited to visit the Mongolian people's homes and experience their life. The Mongolian herdspeople, who are noted for their simple and honest characters, have created a tourist product by combining their living style with tourism industry. They hope that their nomadic life style might attract many city dwellers to come to the grassland.
"It is clear that many tourists like to travel in this way," said Ma Yongsheng, deputy director of the Inner Mongolia Tourism Bureau. “When entering a Mongolian house, many tourists like the experience of watching the glittering stars in the sky from the roof of the house, an experience that they will never have in cities. Many tourists also feel excited when they herd the cows and sheep on the grassland. They can never have such an idle life in cities, either."
In Xilingol Grassland, about 114 Mongolian families have launched family tours for visitors. Statistics show that in 2006, these Mongolian families received nearly 250,000 visitors. Their business income reached 9.38 million yuan. On average, every Mongolia family made a business income of 28,000 yuan out of the family tours.
Mongolian family tour has now developed to become the main tourist product in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The regional government now plans to allocate a special fund to support the development of such family tours.
Source: China news
[Close comments]
Useful Tools for Planning a Pleasant China Trip: China Travel Guide Book, Chinese Phrase Book, Travel Checklist, Travel Insurance, Currency Converter, Time Difference, Visa Application and Phone Rentals; Chinese Embassy... China Travel Tools »
Custom Tailoring: Design your own tour with our help to meet your unique interests, You don't have to compromise, do exactly what you want to do! Let us assist you to tailor-make your own China Experience. Tell us what you need now!
