Kanbula Geopark: From Remote Village to Tourism Hub – A New Era of Prosperity for Qinghai’s Villagers – Travel And Tour World

The stunning Kanbula Geopark on the northeastern edge of China’s Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has proved to be a surprising tourist draw for visitors from all over the world. This previously little-known area has gained more recognition since being recognized as a UNESCO Global Geopark in April 2025. An stunning integration of geology, nature and culture, Kanbula has turned into a a popular tourist site that is also bringing substantial income to the locals who used to earn a life slowly from wheat and barley. As government backing collides with eco-tourism initiatives, the area is booming – and the feel-good success story is transforming the lives of local people, especially in the nearby Deji village.

Kanbula is such an incredibly breathtaking landscape any crazy adjectives you like. Striking red sandstone cliffs and gorges of the Danxia landforms are a draw to visitors who make it to this remote section of China. The combination of colourful cliffs, sparkling lakes, and ancient forests makes for a natural mosaic that lays out millions of years of the earth’s geological past. The geographer Hou Guangliang from Qinghai Normal University calls Kanbula “a location where you can read a million years of Earth’s history in the rock.” Not only is it a haven for geologists but for nature lovers and tourists too, making it a center of eco-tourism.

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Kanbula’s path to becoming a UNESCO Global Geopark has put the place on the global map. This newfound attention has put Kanbula on the map as a key tourist destination and also brought much-needed infrastructure to the area. Stretching 2,100 to 4,600 meters above sea level, the region was once remote, with little infrastructure and resources. Today, better roads, electricity and water are allowing not only visitors, but locals, to experience the majesty of this challenging terrain much more easily.

The designation as a Global Geopark was a breakthrough for the villages. For generations, the people here relied on subsistence farming and herding. Their lives were difficult, in a time where few modern facilities such as health-care, education and transportation could be accessed. But as a result of a tourism boom, partly fuelled by the UNESCO status, local communities are beginning to see a range of new possibilities. As eco-tourism has blossomed, the villagers have become guides, innkeepers and artisans, all of which have helped to fuel an active tourist economy for the region.

“Being named a Global Geopark is like giving Qinghai a new business card to the world,” says Hou Guangliang. “It’s bringing more people in and more chances for the communities here,” she continued.

The Development of Deji Village From Poverty to Affluence

The most obvious illustration of the advantage brought by Kanbula’s tourism boom is Deji Village, situated in the scenic area of the geopark. Deji, not like original Tibetan villages in Qinghai, is a newly built village by a precise-poverty-alleviation-and-relocation plan. In 2016, Jianzha County spent 77.7 million yuan ($10.8 million) on relocating 946 residents from 30 villages in seven townships. The people of Deji — most of them Tibetan herdsmen and farmers — were moved from their isolated homes at more than 3,000 meters, where water, medical care and schools were scarce. New village is in 1,960 metres above a sea level and provided with developed infrastructure which fundamentally changes a life of locals for the better.

The transformation of Deji Village is closely connected to the rapid expansion of the local tourism industry. The firm Jianzha Deji tourism development company, set up as part of the relocation, has also spent tens of millions yuan developing the village into a tourist attraction. Harta lumiiReflectii Toate masinile Comunitate Statistici stil rutier Ochi de sofer Maptrotter Toate destinatiile VEDERE de SusAll about maps All about cars Statistici de trafic Retea Anunturi Drobeta-Zornesti Turneu in Lume – Zelda A Link Between Worlds Retrospective EGX 2017 Streets of Rage 2 Final Ninjas in Pyjamas AOC TV – Turneul Final OG Esports Cavalerii Balcani Ubisoft Iasi DBServer Iasi The Road To Success Vuurwerk to see in the sky Hakuna Matata DDB turbat Rafting de descompresie Vama Paralela 45 În căutare de senzații Seara din Atena Motor data-info Pagini Zile târg cum să ne ajute Autoblog neighborhood Napoleonik Design interior iesit vagabondaj Caricaturi incepi de afara Seychelles the world Lapulgadas the world Rkarta TouristicaQUITELEMENTEN baza de dateAccess din raport Motoare Masini si Briconet Apcom Romania Stiri Secret Some weird language A.C.T..INFO Despre jocuri si alte chestii Piatra meu Rawca Familia mea Moldiv 64-bit platita Iasi contract N… Moreover, the village had created lodging inside villager’s homes – guesthouses which provided income for the families. Money from tourist stays in the guesthouses, as there are no rent costs, goes into the village, promoting the local economy.

Cultural Integration and Economic Empowerment

In Deji, tourism has become well combined with local culture. The government also encourages villagers to learn Mandarin and training programs to teach villagers how to welcome and engage with visitors. Deji is busy non-stop, especially on national holidays and weekends as both people from the neighboring areas and people from abroad stream into the town.

The people of Deji are equally reaping from the trail of renewable energy projects. Through cooperation with China Huaneng Group, the village has built rooftop photovoltaic systems to offer solar power for residential use. These systems enable families to create a surplus of power which is then fed back into the national grid. Every family gets an extra income an average of 4,000 to 5,000 yuan annually by selling the excessive electricity to the grid. The implementation of such projects also adds further to the economic sustainability of a village by breaking the pattern of totally depending on agriculture, and having other more stable incomes.

By 2024, per capita income reached 17,600 yuan, more than three times the 4,000-5,000 yuan level before the relocation, also thanks to tourism and government initiatives. It is a remarkable achievement: for a village that used to be crippled by economic hardship.

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Another case of personal change is Jiao Baji from Deji Village. Before they moved to Deji, Jiao and her family endured a difficult life in the remote highlands, farming barley and wheat in hardship. Moving, and the latter opportunities of tourism, have transformed Holland’s life. Jiao has established a successful guesthouse in her two-story house, which she expanded with profits from the business. Jiao speaks little Mandarin, but she has picked it up well enough to conduct basic conversations with her guests.

“The government helped us to build our house,” Jiao says. “They donated 80,000 yuan, and then each household just had to raise 10,000 yuan. The house also included a kitchen and bathroom.” That guesthouse is now a source of income and, with further government support, Jiao hopes to grow her business into a small restaurant. “Life is much better,” she said, recounting the amenities offered by her new country life — better schools for her children, better access to health care and public services.

The Future: Long-term Prospects for Calendula and its Communities

With the further development of Kanbula Geopark as a tourism center, the sustainability of tourism in the long run will become an important guarantee of the consolidated benefit distribution between the local ethnic groups. The combination of eco-tourism and retention of the character of Kanbula’s unique geological features could be used as a model for other areas inside as well as outside China. For now, the metamorphosis of Deji Village – as well as the wider area – provides a clear example of the intrinsic potential of sustainable tourism in fighting poverty and empowering people.

If such developments continue, investment in infrastructure, education and sustainable tourism will need to be prioritized in order to strike the balance between growth and conservation. But Kanbula has turned this quiet corner of Qinghai into a new Chinese symbol for rural development, offering the locals hope and light and the world a new discovery of seven wonders of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Sources: UNESCO, Qinghai Tourism Bureau, Jianzha County Government, China Huaneng Group, Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China.