Rural tourism in China

In the latest two decades, Rural Tourism (RT) has speedily developed and become an important concept of tourism in China. However, there remains little understanding in the western world about RT for its special role in China's rural socio-economic regeneration. This paper represents an attempt to analyze six different models of RT development. More specifically, the collective imagery of "Nong jia le" (Happy Farmer Home) tourism, a Chinese version of rural tourism, is examined. The findings of this study not only highlight the widely-held beliefs about the important role of RT but also identify a number of related problems and challenges facing its sustainable and healthy development in future, which hopefully would stimulate the interest for further studies in this area. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.