Yunyan explores pathway to high-quality development

Taiping Road Tourism Block in Yunyan district has attracted over 28.8 million tourists since its opening in January 2024, generating revenue of 511 million yuan ($73.31 million).

Behind this commercial miracle is the reform of Guancheng River, the mother river of Guiyang. Ranked as a malodorous black stretch of water in 2019, it has since been transformed into a popular tourist attraction.

The river is now a must-visit spot in Yunyan district. [Photo/Guiyang news network]

"We have established a long-term water quality monitoring mechanism to ensure that it meets environmental standards," said Chen Lang, a Yunyan district representative. "We plan to introduce ecological plants to the river to enhance the greening along the riverside walls."

This remarkable recovery also drove the transformation of the block located on its banks. The Taiping Road urban renewal project involved 628 households and blocks totaling 240,000 square meters, with residents giving a big thumbs-up in the form of a satisfaction rate of 92 percent.

Zu Mingfen who owns a riverside cafe, said, "After the reconstruction, our cafe receives nearly 200 people on weekends. The turnover has increased by almost 30 percent, and the proportion of tourists from outside the city has increased from less than 30 percent to more than 50 percent."

Yunyan has upgraded the 170 traditional businesses that originally settled on Taiping Road and gathered nearly 200 characteristic stores, turning it into a provincial tourism and leisure block based on the "coffee during the day and alcohol at night" model.

The block attracts throngs of tourists at night. [Photo/Guiyang news network]

The average daily passenger flow at the Taiping Road Tourism Block has now climbed to almost 40,000 exceeding 100,000 during the peak tourism season. Its median monthly operating income is around 22 million yuan, catapulting it to one of the top 40 such blocks in China.