Viewing the Tourism Path that Integrates Natural Wonders from Ankang Niulang Mountain Scenic Area
From Azalea Sea to Health and Wellness Destination—Niulang Mountain’s Tourism Path Integrating Natural Wonders
In Zhenping County, deep within the Qinba region of Ankang City, there is a mountain called Niulang Mountain. At an elevation of 1,800 meters, it features rolling seas of clouds, blooming azaleas, and lush tea gardens. Once, it was just a quiet forest deep in the Bashan Mountains; today, it has become a national AAA-level scenic area and a “poetry and distant place” that urban dwellers yearn for.
The transformation of Niulang Mountain is a journey of turning natural wonders into sustainable tourism development.
1. Ecology First: Preserving Nature’s Gifts
Zhenping County, where Niulang Mountain is located, boasts a forest coverage rate of 88.81% and is known as the “Heart of Nature, Bashan’s Medicine Land, and a Health Paradise.” It lies within the main biodiversity functional zone of the Qinba Mountains and is an important water conservation area for the South-to-North Water Diversion Project’s middle route.
Faced with such a generous gift from nature, the primary principle of tourism development at Niulang Mountain is protection.
During an inspection of Niulang Mountain, the provincial political consultative research team emphasized the need to “follow principles of ecological priority, green development, and multi-stakeholder governance.” This means all tourism facility construction must be based on not damaging the ecological environment. The Xiaoshi Mountain homestays are built following the mountain’s terrain, with 25 houses scattered and integrated into the forest; hiking trails are constructed along existing mountain paths without cutting down a single large tree; the camping base is located on already cleared grassland, avoiding original forest land.
“Ecological economy, economic ecology”—this approach has allowed Niulang Mountain to preserve its green mountains and clear waters while also gaining economic prosperity.
2. Using Flowers as a Medium: Creating Seasonal Tourism IP
If ecological protection is the foundation of Niulang Mountain’s tourism, then the azalea sea is its brightest calling card.
Every year from April to May, the mountain is covered with blooming alpine azaleas in shades of crimson, pink, and snow white, spreading as far as the eye can see like a magnificent cloudscape. This natural wonder has been keenly captured by Niulang Mountain and developed into a core tourism IP.
In 2024, the first Niulang Mountain Azalea Festival opened, signing 14 projects with a total contract value of 638 million yuan. In 2025, the second Azalea Garden Festival arrived as scheduled, themed “Heart of Qinling · Azalea Sea,” launching more than ten themed activities including “Mountain Water Tea Garden · City Walk,” “Heart of Nature · Longevity Zhenping” art exhibitions, and “Flower and Tea Culture Experience.”
“One flower ignites a city, one scenic spot enriches a region.” This is not just a slogan but a reality in progress. During the azalea season, Niulang Mountain’s daily visitor count has exceeded a thousand, and homestays are fully booked.
More importantly, this IP is not isolated—it uses azaleas as a starting point to connect tea gardens, homestays, camping, and tea culture experiences, allowing visitors not only to see the flowers but also to stay, live, and spend.
3. Industry Integration: From “Flower Viewing” to “Health and Wellness”
Single flower sea sightseeing cannot sustain long-term tourism development. Niulang Mountain’s wisdom lies in building a diversified industrial ecosystem with the “azalea + tea tourism + health and wellness” model.
Tea-tourism integration is one of the core sectors. Xiaoshi Tea Garden, cultivated for over a decade, has transformed barren mountains into tea mountains, producing alpine teas that have won honors such as Red Tea King and Green Tea King. Visitors can carry bamboo baskets to pick tea, sip tea while watching clouds in the tea room, and stroll along tea garden trails. This immersive experience adds the joy of “tea tasting” beyond just “flower viewing.”
The homestay economy is key to retaining tourists. Since opening in April 2024, Xiaoshi Mountain homestays have been continuously popular, with full bookings during holidays. Built along the mountain, the homestays offer mountain views from the windows and are equipped with the Guoxin Study Room, swimming pool, tea room, and café. Notably, it has developed a “homestay+” model: tea picking in spring, stargazing in summer, farming experiences in autumn, and tea brewing by the stove in winter, combined with customized routes linking nearby ancient villages and agricultural bases.
The camping base caters to young people’s needs. Chayu Mountain Camping Base offers tents, canopies, bonfire parties, open-air karaoke, and stargazing, turning Niulang Mountain from a “health and wellness place for the elderly” into a “hot spot for young people.”
Cultural empowerment gives tourism a soul. The Guoxin Study Room extends public cultural services into the scenic area; situational dances like “Yaoqi Call in the Bashan Mountains” and “Salt Road Legend” recreate the historical legends of the Qinba Ancient Road. Visitors see not only scenery but also culture.
4. Talent Return: Guardians of This Land and Water
No matter how beautiful the scenery, it needs people to protect and manage it. The story of Niulang Mountain involves two key figures.
Shi Haijun, founder of Xiaoshi Tea Garden. He aspired to leave the mountains since childhood, made a name for himself in business, and then returned to Niulang Mountain with a deep attachment to his hometown. He spent over a decade doing one thing—planting, processing, and selling tea—resulting in today’s layout of “tea gardens at the foot, medicinal gardens on the mountain, and folk culture parks on the hillside,” as well as improved housing, employment, and livelihoods for local people.
Yang Ziyue, head of Xiaoshi Mountain Homestay. As a returning young person, she brought modern homestay management concepts into the deep mountains, designing seasonal experience activities tailored to tourists’ personalized needs, making the homestay not just a resting place but a bridge connecting people with nature, culture, and life.
They are practitioners of the “Two Mountains” theory and dedicated contributors to rural revitalization.
5. Regional Coordination: From “One Scenic Area” to “One Destination”
Niulang Mountain’s tourism path is not isolated scenic area development but part of Zhenping County’s overall tourism strategic layout.
Zhenping County’s development layout is based on “three cores, three lines, and three zones,” implementing the “Star and Moon Project” and promoting the model of “leisure farms (boutique homestays) + camping bases + residential environment improvement + local specialties.” Niulang Mountain is the “core” and “star” of this, linked with Nanjiang Lake Scenic Area, Zhongbao Town farmhouse experience centers, and others.
The effectiveness of this regional coordination is already evident. In February 2026, Zhenping County’s “Winter Health and Wellness Experience Tour Route” (Zhenping County Town → Niulang Mountain Tea Tourism Integrated Leisure Agricultural Park → Nanjiang Lake Scenic Area) was selected as a national rural leisure tourism boutique route by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs’ “Rural Chinese New Year” program.
More importantly, this model truly benefits local people. Tea gardens have increased villagers’ employment and income; homestays have turned idle farmhouses into “money trees”; farmhouse experience centers have increased village collective income by 170,000 yuan and household income by 10,000 yuan on average. Tourism is no longer “enriching bosses while impoverishing villagers,” but “everyone sharing the benefits of tourism.”
6. Outlook: A Sustainable Tourism Path
Looking back at Niulang Mountain’s development, a clear thread emerges:
From “seeing the mountain as just a mountain” to “seeing the mountain as not just a mountain” and then back to “seeing the mountain as a mountain again.”
Initially, Niulang Mountain was just an ordinary mountain deep in Bashan, where people saw the simple beauty of nature; with the rise of the Azalea Festival, tea-tourism integration, and homestay economy, people saw the prosperity of industry; but at its core, Niulang Mountain’s competitive advantage remains the ecological wonders gifted by nature—seas of clouds, seas of flowers, tea gardens, and starry skies. Preserving this gift is preserving the foundation for development.
After research, the provincial political consultative conference pointed out the need to adhere to the “ecological economy, economic ecology” development path, fully leverage ecological advantages, deepen integration of agriculture, culture, and tourism industries, and inject new momentum into high-quality county economic development.
Niulang Mountain has already paved this path and is widening it.
Spring tea tasting, summer water play, autumn moon viewing, winter snow watching—each season at Niulang Mountain has its own beauty. But no matter when you come, you will find that every flower, every cloud, and every wisp of tea fragrance here is no accident, but the most beautiful scenery on a tourism path that integrates natural wonders.