84-year-old Jiao Ruiyun lives in Longwangba village of Ningxia, in northwest China. He was a farmer for nearly all his life, growing potatoes and vegetables. But he opened a homestay, when he almost retired from farming in his 70's – And that's what he could never imagine.

JIAO RUIYUN Longwangba Village, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region "My wife and I run this homestay, and thanks to the income, we've saved some money, that's much better than farming."

He doesn't need to do housekeeping. Younger and well-trained villagers come regularly. The idea of a homestay is part of a transformation project for the village.

HE WEIWEI Longwangba Village, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region "There are about 50 households in this village. Most of them provide such homestay services. Their rooms may not be that fancy, but keeping in mind that this community didn't have running water until 2015, one can clearly see the progress here."

Lack of efficient transportation and bad environment had made this place one of the most impoverished areas in China. Before 2013, the average annual income per person in the village was 2300 yuan, that's less than one U.S. dollar per day.

JIAO RUIYUN Longwangba Village, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region "In the past, life was very difficult. I didn't have enough clothes for my children, they had no shoes to wear, and could only wear socks. It was so bad."

Jiao Jianpeng is the man who brought change to this poor village. He realized that agriculture may not generate enough income, so he initiated a renovation project, hoping to find a way out by developing tourism.

JIAO JIANPENG Head of Longwangba Village, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region "If we sell a chicken, that's only 60 yuan. But if we cook it and sell the food, we can earn four times. Now, we have hotels and homestay services. One night's accommodation is equivalent to the income of one unit of land for almost a whole year."

That works. With newly-built highways and modern facilities, tourists are coming.

"I come here two or three times a year, especially in spring. Today, I'm here with my family and my grandson."

Thanks to that, the village was taken off the poverty list in 2016 and no longer referred to as "uninhabitable". HWW, CGTN, Longwangba Village, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.