As the process of urbanization progresses，there isa mass movement of people leaving villages andheading to cities.Recently，some people in the citieshave become fed up with urban life and long to flee tothe countryside.In their mind，the countless villages thatare overlooked by tourists due to inconvenient transportationare like a paradise on earth，whereas rural areas closeto cities make the most of their advantageous position tolure tourists to enjoy their pastoral beauty.
According to statistics，70%of China’s tourism resourcesare in rural area.China’s vast countryside truly does havean abundance of beautiful scenery，enough to satisfy thelonging of all urban residents to return to nature.
Wuyuan is a county in Jiangxi Province with along history that formerly belonged to Anhui.
Fortunately，Wuyuan has preserved all thecharm of ancient Huizhou.It is a brilliant green patch ofnature and bright pearl of ancient culture on the HuangshanMountain-Jingdezhen-Lushan Mountain route sopopular with international tourists.Wuyuan is rich inresources for ecotourism，with 2，400 square kilometers offorested land，accounting for 82%of the total area of thecounty.People say of the area that it is“8.5 parts mountains，1 part fields and 0.5 parts waterways and manors.”
Beautiful scenery can be found wherever one looksin Wuyuan as though it were a giant park.People call it“the most beautiful countryside in China”and“the lastShangri-La.”Wuyuan includes a rich store of famous andancient sites such as the well preserved ancient villages ofJiangwan，Wangkou，Sixi，and Likeng.The green mountainswith their lush vegetation and mountain streams alongside the plaster walls，black tiles and upturnedeaves of the houses form a perfect picture of tranquilityand harmony between man and nature.The Ming andQing buildings with their plaster walls，black tiles andupturned eaves，plus the stone paths and bridges and tierafter tier of terraced fields make the visitor feel as thoughhe is totally immersed in a traditional Chinese painting.
Wuyuan not only has beautiful scenery that rivals apainting，but has also long been known as the“literaryplace”and has a thriving literary feel.In ancient times itwas said，“the sound of reading coming from the strawhuts，people putting down their work to sit for an examination.”
From the Song to the Qing Dynasty，550 people from the village passed thehighest imperial examination and2，665 people served as officials.Anold saying goes，“A household hadnine members passing the imperialexamination and four of thecountry’s six ministers had studiedhere.”Wuyuan scholars and authorsproduced over 3，100 works，172of which have been included in the com-plete Library of the Four Branches of Literature.The peopleof an area are influenced by the local conditions，and theliterary and academic spirit has continued here for generations，producing many outstanding persons，such asthe writer Zhu Bian，the philosopher，educator and Neo-Confucianist Zhu Xi，Ming Dynasty seal carver He Zhen，Qing Dynasty Confucian classicist Jiang Yong，scientistQi Yanhuai，“father of the railway，”Zhan Tianyou，andmodern medical expert Cheng Menxue.All of them haveemerged from Wuyuan and gone out to China and theworld.
Products of Wuyuan are famous in China and overseas.
The local products，typified by four colors（red，green，white，and black）and four things from the past（ancient villages，ancient caves，ancient buildings，andancient culture），have a long history and unique culturalcharacter.Red is for the“treasure of the water，”the pursered carp.This fish，which has been selected for state banquets，is tender and flavorful，but in addition to eating it，the fish is used in medicines and in carp ponds for their visual beauty.Green is for Wuyuan green tea，which hasbecome famous far and wide for its color，good fragrance，good viscosity，and pleasing taste.Black is for the dragontail inkstones，which are famous around the world becauseof the way they“ring like copper，have the color ofiron，have a hard and smooth surface，and are excellentfor making ink.”White is for the Jiangwan snow pears，which are large，fleshy，crisp，sweet，and flavorful，a premiumfruit variety.The area is also known for folk handicraftssuch as Jialu decorative umbrellas，woven bamboo，embroidery，wooden carvings and root sculptures，as wellas for Qinghuawu liquor，special fish dish，shitake mushrooms，dried bamboo shoots and dried wild vegetables，all of which make excellent gifts for friends and relatives.
Wuyuan is rich in folk arts.The elegant Anhui operais one of the sources of Beijing opera.The ancient Nuodance has been called the“living fossil of ancient dance，the Taige art of Jialu Village is said to be“a skill unique toChina”and the unique tea ceremony is enchanting.
