Huaiyuan Héquán Farmstead

Huaiyuan Héquán Farmstead

Huaiyuan Héquán Farmstead is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.

Héquán Farmstead is located in the Tushan Scenic Area of Huaiyuan County, Bengbu City, Anhui Province. It lies to the north against Tushan Mountain — the legendary site where the Great Yu tamed the floods, to the east next to the Héxú Expressway, to the south bordering the Heavenly River, and to the west alongside the Huai River and Wo River. It is adjacent to National Highway 206, enjoying highly convenient access via highway, waterway, and railway. Covering an area of 1,500 acres, the farmstead is nestled against mountains and beside waters, boasting pleasant scenery and a beautiful natural environment.

The farmstead focuses on developing leisure and sightseeing tourism. By showcasing the folkways and customs of northern Anhui and promoting the culture of the Great Yu, it actively drives the development of various business ventures such as eco-hotels, eco-clubs, guest rooms, animal husbandry, crop farming, landscaping projects, and the Yudi Fang Winery. Adhering to modern corporate management systems and upholding market-oriented, standardized, and large-scale operational principles, the farmstead advocates the values of farming culture and harmonious coexistence with nature. It reflects its corporate mission of continually providing consumers with better products and leisure experiences, while also forging a path of self-development that helps surrounding farmers achieve shared prosperity.

Over the years, Héquán Farmstead has closely aligned with its overall development goals. Through self-funded, incremental investment, it has cumulatively poured over 40 million yuan into building relatively complete infrastructure. This includes more than 5,000 square meters of eco-restaurant space, over 3,000 square meters of eco-clubhouse facilities, expert apartments, and standard guest rooms (suites). Among these, the largest eco-restaurant in northern Anhui can accommodate over 800 diners, featuring 26 uniquely themed private rooms, a spacious and bright banquet hall, and over 30 elegant seating areas tucked among lush greenery. There are also expert apartments and 50 sets (rooms) of standard guest rooms, plus a distinctive eco-leisure clubhouse equipped with one multi-functional meeting room and two smaller meeting rooms, making it convenient for leisure vacations, staff training, and small to medium-sized conferences. Additional recreational amenities include a teahouse, café, bar, casual snacks, karaoke, fitness facilities, and more. The farmstead also houses a sika deer breeding base, fishing ponds, a pomegranate bonsai garden, the Héquán Fish Viewing and Release Pond, an outdoor training area, and a mini zoo.

In actively developing “agritainment” leisure and sightseeing tourism projects, the farmstead offers activities such as “one-day tours,” “My Vegetable Plot,” “Adopt a Tree,” “Harvest Festival,” “Double Ninth Festival,” “Spring and Autumn Student Science Tours,” “Special Cool-Down Evening Parties,” “Open-Air BBQ and Bonfire Evenings,” “Farmhouse Cuisine Exhibition,” and “Mid-Autumn Moon Viewing.” These meet the needs of urban dwellers who long to connect with nature, experience farming culture, and enjoy pastoral life. At the same time, in vigorously developing organic ecological agriculture, the farmstead adheres to the principles of respecting, cherishing, and enjoying nature. It maintains biodiversity, leverages the natural regulatory mechanisms within agricultural ecosystems, establishes a rational system of crop and animal growth along with a sound ecological environment, extends the food chain, and implements the national strategy of sustainable development.

With the support of governments and leaders at all levels, and through its own efforts, Héquán Farmstead became Anhui Province’s first certified organic farmstead in 2003, earning the honorary title of “Youth Civilization Unit” at the municipal level. In 2005, it was awarded the titles of “Agritainment Tourism Demonstration Site,” “Anhui Provincial Designated Producer of Tourism Commodities,” and “Anhui Provincial Private Technology Enterprise” by the Anhui Provincial Tourism Bureau and the Provincial Department of Agriculture. In 2006, it received further honors including “Bengbu Municipal Advanced Unit in Technological Innovation,” “Bengbu Key Agricultural Industrialization Leading Enterprise,” “Anhui Youth Civilization Unit,” “National Agricultural Tourism Demonstration Site,” and “National AAA-Level Tourist Attraction.” It was also listed among Anhui’s “Best Travel Routes” and “Top Ten Leisure Bases in Anhui.” In 2008, it was awarded the titles of “Three-Star Tourist Hotel” and “National AAAA-Level Tourist Attraction.” Meanwhile, the farmstead’s breeding operations, primarily focused on sika deer and free-range chickens in orchards, have also seen further development. Deer antler and deer blood-based “Yudi” health wines, produced through deep processing, have become flagship tourism products. The orchard-raised free-range chickens are organic products, raised naturally in the orchards and produced entirely in accordance with organic agricultural standards, making them highly popular among consumers. In crop cultivation, breakthroughs have been made in researching new varieties of Huaiyuan pomegranates. With the support of the Provincial Department of Science and Technology, the farmstead collaborated with Anhui Agricultural University to research and develop the independently core-technologied achievement “Breeding and Cultivation Techniques of Soft-Seeded Pomegranate Fine Varieties,” which won the Municipal Science and Technology Progress Second Prize. This has laid a solid foundation for the future growth of Héquán Farmstead.