A homestay under construction in Danzhu town of Xianju county, Taizhou. [Photo/taizhou.com.cn] 

Danzhu town in Xianju county of Taizhou has emerged as a popular rural tourism destination in recent years, banking on its rich tourism resources.

Situated in the core area of the national 5A Shenxianju Scenic Spot, Danzhu's forest coverage ratio stands at 91.3 percent and is dubbed a "natural oxygen bar".

The township receives up to 10,000 visitors per day during its peak tourist season in summer, said Wang Danyang, an official at the publicity department of the Danzhu township government.

A large number of local residents who used to work outside the town have returned home to run homestays.

Currently, Danzhu is home to more than 210 homestays with more than 4,000 beds. High-end and mid-end homestays account for 20 percent and 70 percent of the total respectively, according to Wang.

Low-end homestays in the township cost 100 yuan ($14.49) per day, he said, adding that the average income of a single homestay is 150,000 yuan per year.

One such example is a homestay named "Danzhu Memory". The facility is a medium to high-end homestay providing services such as catering, accommodation and conferencing. Since its opening in early May 2016, it has received more than 100,000 guests in total and provided employment for struggling local villagers. 

To deal with the influx of visitors, which may pose a threat to the environment, local authorities adopted a "green currency" system in 2015 to promote an eco-friendly lifestyle among visitors and residents.

Green currency is an incentive used to award people who lead a low-carbon green lifestyle, which can later be traded for goods or real money.

To date, a total of 80 percent of merchants in Danzhu have signed the deal to promote the green currency. As a result, over 10,000 sets of disposable toiletries have been saved in homestays. More than 2,000 visitors have also participated in volunteer activities in the township such as patrol and river cleaning.