Video record of the award ceremony (Video/Zhe Video)

Yucun, a village of East China's Zhejiang Province, was on Thursday listed among the 44 best examples of villages that embrace tourism to provide opportunities and promote sustainable development. Xidi Village in Anhui Province was also on the list. 

The list of "Best Tourism Villages 2021" was made public at an event held here on the sidelines of the 24th General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

The "Best Tourism Villages" initiative aims to promote the role of tourism in protecting rural villages, along with their landscapes, natural and cultural diversity, local values, and activities, including local gastronomy.

The General Assembly recognized 44 villages from a list of 174 candidates in 32 countries.

The village of Yucun, located in Anji County of east China's Zhejiang Province, is often referred to as the "beautiful town" as its environmentally-conscious local authorities treasure the area's clear waters and green mountains to benefit the locals.

Back in the 1980s and 1990s, the village based its economy on the area's high-quality mineral resources and became the "richest" community in Anji - but it also paid a high price for pollution.

In recent years, Yucun has made great efforts to improve its environment and by now it has become a popular tourist destination. In 2017, it welcomed 400,000 domestic and international visitors and was awarded the title of National Ecological Cultural Village.

For the UNWTO listing, the villages were evaluated by an independent Advisory Board based on a set of criteria, including cultural and natural resources, promotion and conservation of cultural resources, and economic and social sustainability.

Also on Wednesday, the UNWTO General Assembly reelected Zurab Pololikasvili with a comfortable majority for a second term as secretary-general. His mandate lasts until 2025.

Editor: Ye Ke