Guests settle in for the night at an upmarket homestay in Songyang county. [Photo/Zhejiang Daily]

It's a novel line, but it clearly works for her, charming the guests: "Have you ever slept on a mountain, on the sea, or on a cloud?"

This is how Guo Guo, a local internet celebrity and rural tourism guide from Songyang county in Lishui city – in East China's Zhejiang province – introduces her homestay to visitors.

Guo was among 50 trainees who attended a five-day training and competition event for rural tourism guides in Lishui, which aimed to enhance their skills in showcasing the rich culture and scenery of their hometowns.

The event, held at Lishui Open University, consisted of two parts: training and competition. The trainees learned from experts in tourism, culture and education – studying topics such as reception etiquette, cultural communications and interpretation techniques.

Lishui launched the "Rural Tourism Recommender" brand in 2022 and issued a training plan to cultivate more than 100 junior, 30 intermediate and 10 chief rural tourism guides by 2025.

With their guidance, tourists can enjoy a variety of experiences in Lishui's homestays – like taking photos in hanfu or traditional Chinese garb, watching rousing ethnic performances and listening to mountain songs while tasting local cuisine.

Lishui plans to further refine the rural culture and tourism guide training system and cultivate more rural culture and tourism talent.

It will provide a service platform for developing and incubating new forms of rural culture and tourism and explore effective ways of integrating talent and local industry.