A couple of the transformed stores in Yunhe county. [Photo/Tide News]

Yunhe county in Lishui city – in East China's Zhejiang province – has found a new way to revitalize its rural areas, by transforming idle farmhouses into income-generating "golden houses".

The county has launched a series of pilot projects to activate and reuse idle farmhouses – such as developing special commercial streets, common prosperity workshops, homestays and other industries – with the support of various policies and other initiatives.

One of the successful examples is the Xiaolongkeng characteristic block in Chishi village, Chishi town. This has attracted many tourists with its milk tea shops and other distinctive shops.

Another example is the Meiyuan Old Street in Meiyuan village, Chongtou town, which has been transformed into a characteristic old street that integrates Yunhe specialty snacks, music-themed bars, cultural and creative handicrafts, tea houses, pubs, coffee book bars and other formats.

The county has also innovated the "idle farmhouse + common prosperity workshop" model. This utilizes the collective idle assets of the old township government, old health center, old grain station and other places – to build research and study bases that integrate tea processing, experiential learning and agricultural product sales.

The Zhiqing Tea Garden common prosperity workshop in Jianshuitan town is one of the representatives of this model. It's provided more than 20 jobs for local farmers and increased the village collective income by more than 200,000 yuan ($27,376).

According to statistics, in the current year the county has activated and used 40 idle farmhouses. That's attracted more than 40 million yuan in investment funds – driving farmers to increase property income by 2.81 million yuan and the village collective income by 370,000 yuan.