Homestay tourism lights up herders' path to prosperity in NW China's Xinjiang

Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily (Reporter Wang Lihua) news: On July 10, 2026, Nayingte Village and Haoerhate Village of Ke'erguti Township in Hejing County, Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, nestled deep in the Tianshan Mountains, buzzed with tourist activity. Visitors from across the country flocked here to escape the summer heat. Mongolian yurts operated by local herder homestays across the township were packed with guests filled with cheerful laughter. The inviting aroma of distinctive beef and mutton paints a promising picture of thriving cultural tourism and rising incomes for local herders.

Photo taken on July 10, 2026 shows tourists enjoy sightseeing at Haoerhate Village of Ke'erguti Township in Hejing County, Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Nestled deep within the Tianshan Mountains, Ke'erguti Township is a pure pastoral township home to 457 herder households. Boasting stunning ecological scenery, it features premium tourism resources including a national-level ancient village, weird rock valley and grassland stone statues. With blooming wild flowers and pleasantly cool summers, it serves as an ideal summer retreat. Leveraging its unique ecological and cultural assets, the local government vigorously develops rural tourism. The herder homestay sector keeps expanding and has become a key pillar boosting herders' income and prosperity.

Photo taken on July 10, 2026 shows scattered yurts of herder homestays dot the landscape at Ke'erguti Township in Hejing County, Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Photo taken on July 10, 2026 shows a tourist holds a child to admire a local herder's fine horse.

Photo taken on July 10, 2026 shows tourists take photos at scenic spots at Haoerhate Village of Ke'erguti Township in Hejing County, Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

At present, the township has fostered more than 60 herder homestays with over 500 Mongolian yurts. Booming tourism enables herders to increase earnings without leaving the mountains. Locally raised beef, mutton and special native produce can be sold directly to tourists without long-distance transportation, greatly expanding income sources. Herder Daobudai shared that his homestay receives over 50 tourists every day during peak travel seasons.

The opening of the new Ke'erguti Tunnel has broken the transportation bottleneck in the mountainous area. It resolves long-standing troubles such as treacherous mountain roads, seasonal road closures in winter and difficulties attracting tourists, injecting strong momentum into the growth of rural tourism. Improved transport links and steady tourist flows have strengthened herders' confidence to run homestays and broadened their development prospects. The integrated development of animal husbandry and tourism fuels rural revitalization, breathing vibrant energy into this remote pastoral mountain region.

Photo taken on July 10, 2026 shows the newly completed Ke'erguti Tunnel in Hejing County, Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Photo taken on July 10, 2026 shows tourists pick apricots at Ke'erguti Township in Hejing County, Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Photo taken on July 10, 2026 shows tourists visit ancient trees at Ke'erguti Township in Hejing County, Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

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