Kaihua, a county in Quzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, plans to build the first art village in China in collaboration with Hangzhou-based Land Holidays Group. [Photo/khnews.zjol.com.cn]

Kaihua, a county in Quzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, plans to build the first art village in China in collaboration with Hangzhou-based Land Holidays Group, local media reported on May 27.

The art village will be renovated from Dayuantou village in Zhongcun town.

All the villagers in Dayuantou were moved to Kaihua county due to inconvenient transportation and it became an uninhabited village.

Xu Hao, Party secretary of Zhongcun town, said that they discovered the mountainous village by accident.

Dayuantou houses 30 intact traditional dwellings which are built down the hillside with streams running through them and interconnected by flagstone walkways. More than 95 percent of the area in the village is covered with thick trees.

In 2018, local government reached a cooperative intention with Land Holidays to develop Dayuantou into an art village.

With an investment of 50 million yuan ($7.24 million), Land Holidays will build a riverside scenery belt connecting the village's main scenic spots, high-end homestays, and nine different handicraft workshops in the village, among other plans.

After the whole project is completed, the local village will become a shareholder with dwellings, land and forest, which is expected to bring about more than 80,000 yuan in revenue each year and the project itself will offer over 200 jobs to local villagers.

Schematic plan for the art village [Photo/qz96811.com]