When overseas students from Henan Polytechnic University visited a village in Xiuwu county, Henan province, on March 4, an English-speaking official volunteered to be their tour guide.

Guo Peng, Party chief of Xiuwu county, was visiting the art gallery in the village, and when he encountered the foreign students — a diverse group from six countries — Guo showed them around and provided information about the village and county.

Pictures hanging on the gallery wall showed local buildings and the daily lives of residents. These had been posted on the internet to help people around the world get acquainted with the place, Guo said.

Located in the Taihang Mountain area, Dananpo had prospered in the past from its coal mines and other mineral extraction. But the mines had been shut down and people gradually deserted the village. Things got so bad that it was eventually labeled poverty-stricken by the province.

To follow the aesthetic path of rural revitalization, Dananpo converted an office building constructed in 1976 into a cultural center. The vacant hall and school are expected to be transformed into guesthouses, a cafeteria and a theater.

Guo said there is undoubtedly great potential for high-quality development in Xiuwu county, which now boasts 76 major aesthetic projects similar to the one in Dananpo.