Keepers of the mountainous scenery

The property also features a pool, bar, spa, and coffee shop. The main attraction, Qu points out, lies in its contrast: the outside looks humble, while the inside holds care.

"The mountains are why people come to Zhangjiajie. But this is where they stay," he says with pride.

Qu didn't plan any of this. In 1989, Qu left these mountains to join the military in southern Hainan. His mother missed him so much back home that she couldn't sleep.

He returned to Zhangjiajie after being discharged from the military and took a government job. However, even the job's stability couldn't keep him from thinking about his village, where his uncles and aunts had sent him off with money and love.

A longing hit him. He felt compelled to build something on the land where he grew up, a place where friends could come for tea and meals. He then built the property in 2011. It is a bit far from the city, but it is home, so he named it Home in the Distance.

More friends came, then friends of friends, then strangers, and as the property grew, so did his vision for the property.

Now, on a typical day, Qu walks the grounds, watching guests settle into hammocks, order coffee at the bar, and ask the housekeepers about hiking trails. "Seeing their joy is what satisfies me," he says.

Back in the city, near the river, another kind of welcome awaits. Wang Ting pushes open the door of Nimo Kitchen. Sunlight filters through a two-story magnolia tree in the center of the dining room.

The building sat abandoned for more than a decade before Wang and her three partners found it. With a half-basement, it was unremarkable, tucked among other buildings on the road between the airport and the high-speed rail station.

After acquiring the building, they covered the exterior with old red bricks to give off a warm, simple vibe while renovating it to stand out like a villa among the apartment blocks.

Wang has been in the restaurant business for eight years. This is her third restaurant. Her partners are a coffee specialist, a designer and an experienced baker.

Each wanted to build a more complete, colorful Western restaurant.

In addition to a dining area with a maximum capacity of 200, much of the 2,000-square-meter space is given to thousands of plants. They also had a skylight installed, and vintage furniture fills the corners, which Wang collected over the years. Jars line the windowsills. Inside, Wang cultivates her own cultures for kombucha and other fermented drinks.

"They're alive and go into bread. Many of our ingredients aren't bought, but grown by us," she adds.

Wang says her team didn't calculate the return on investment for every aspect, but kept building what felt right, confident that the business' long-term prospects were strong given the huge tourism potential in Zhangjiajie.

Business has been steady since opening in September 2024. International visitors keep arriving. For example, international guests accounted for more than half the revenue in March, she shares. "In this restaurant, you feel like you're abroad, with various nationalities and different languages," she notes.

She says her business has enabled her to feel better connected to the city's development. "Zhangjiajie is growing its inbound tourism. We feel it as we connect with people from different countries. Some invite us to visit them. I'm genuinely happy."