The interior of the Wuzhou Kiln Museum in Hanzao village, Wucheng district, Jinhua. [Photo/Zhejiang Daily]
Several villages in Wucheng district, Jinhua, Zhejiang province have in recent years been harnessing their cultural heritage to drive rural vitalization efforts.
One outstanding example is Hanzao village in Yafan town, which has utilized its kiln culture, a national intangible cultural heritage item, to develop rural tourism, offering sightseeing agriculture and ICH study tours.
The village boasts two well-preserved kiln relics from the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24) and has established a kiln museum, which has now become a popular tourism destination.
In 2023, Hanzao welcomed over 50,000 tourists. Visitors were drawn to the village by its renovated landscape, featuring charming houses, spacious village roads, modern amenities such as teahouses and cafes, and the preservation of ancient buildings, old river channels, ancient bridges, and ancient trees.
Liu Yuzhi, Party secretary of Yafan town, highlighted the authorities' ongoing efforts to conserve traditional culture and promote the integration of agriculture, culture, and tourism, aiming to achieve common prosperity.