Shanghai-Dunnan Cooperation "Wind Ka Valley": New rural changes in the integration of agriculture, culture and tourism in Baishapo Village, Pu'er

China News Service, Pu'er, Yunnan, October 6. Title: Shanghai-Yunnan Cooperation "Wind Ka Valley": New rural changes in the integration of agriculture, culture and tourism in Baishapo Village, Pu'er

China News Service reporter Han Shuainan

During the National Day holiday, the aroma lingers in the kiln-baked bakery in Baishapo Village, Nanping Town, Pu'er City, Yunnan Province. Villager Luo Yaqiong invites tourists to experience kneading and baking, and the freshly baked bread floats to the coffee garden with the aroma of wheat. “I used to be a coffee farmer, and now I’m the project leader of a bakery,” she said with a smile.

Luo Yaqiong is baking bread. Photo by China News Service reporter Han Shuainan

Hidden in the hinterland of the Pu'er coffee producing area, Baishapo is a village inhabited by traditional coffee farmers. In the past, travel conditions in the village were poor and the industry was single, so many young people chose to go out to work. Relying on the Shanghai-Yunnan cooperation project, in July 2024, "Beautiful Star Village·Wind Ka Valley" was officially opened. With the positioning of "coffee experience + pastoral leisure + native livability", it will create a coffee specialty community that integrates coffee planting and processing, cultural tourism experience, and product sales.

"After the project is launched, the villagers no longer just focus on growing coffee." Dai Xiaoyan, the person in charge of the operation of Youfeng Kagu in Meilixing Village, said that the project relies on the villagers' idle plots to build project housing next to the farmers' residences and develop B&Bs, handicrafts and other businesses. The villagers' own space is integrated with the cultural tourism industry but relatively independent, retaining the atmosphere of native life.

Nowadays, more than 20 experience businesses have been hatched in the village, and projects such as out-of-print woodcutting, tie-dying, tea making, and kiln-baked bread are scattered in various small courtyards. The village infrastructure has been upgraded simultaneously, muddy paths have been hardened into clean trails, and residential buildings have been renovated into white walls and blue tiles, significantly improving the living environment.

A view of Baishapo Village. Photo by China News Service reporter Han Shuainan

This spatial layout allows businesses such as B&Bs, cafe experiences, and intangible cultural heritage workshops to be fully embedded in the villages where villagers live daily. Tourists can stay in standardized-managed guest rooms, and can also directly enter villagers' homes to experience local life.

The identity of the villagers has also changed. Some of the former coffee farmers have become baristas, and some have started businesses at home and are managers. Wang Qingqing, who has been growing coffee for more than 20 years, is now a B&B housekeeper, cleaning rooms and receiving guests every day, earning a fixed monthly income of several thousand yuan. Wang Chunfang returned to her hometown after working in Xishuangbanna for more than ten years and transformed her unused courtyard into a tie-dye workshop. She is also a restaurant manager, project commentator and B&B partner. Luo Yaqiong's son-in-law and daughter returned to the village from out of town, and the family worked at the bakery, earning more than when they were working outside.

In order to better meet employment needs, Baishapo Village organized villagers to learn about the entire coffee industry chain and learn coffee brewing techniques. The village also organizes etiquette training to enhance villagers' service awareness, which not only helps villagers improve their abilities and quality, but also enhances their confidence in starting their own businesses.

The changes don't stop at the villages. "In the past, tourists came to Baishapo Village and left on the same day or only stayed for one night because there were limited items to experience." Dai Xiaoyan said that now tourists' stay has been extended to 2 to 3 days, and many long-term guests will choose to stay here for ten days and a half.

Tourists visit Baishapo Village. Photo by China News Service reporter Han Shuainan

This model of "social forces + village collectives + professional cooperatives + farmers" has turned villagers from bystanders into participants and beneficiaries. In the future, Baishapo Village will continue to cultivate villagers into entrepreneurial entities, business entities, and beneficiary entities, and promote the transformation of villages into scenic spots and pastoral areas into parks.

From single coffee cultivation to the integrated development of agriculture, culture and tourism, the changes in Baishapo are a vivid epitome of the thirty years of cooperation between Shanghai and Yunnan. As of 2025, Shanghai has invested a total of 33.68 billion yuan in financial assistance funds in Yunnan, assisted in the construction of more than 14,300 various projects, and directly benefited more than 1.8 million people. The Shanghai-Yunnan cooperation is "grafting" Shanghai's market and operational experience to the mountains and rivers of Yunnan, making every villager a protagonist in rural revitalization. (over)