"In June 2015, my wife and I came to Pingtan to sell tea leaves and handicrafts from our hometown in Taiwan," Lin said. "One day we happened across a village in Pingtan called Beigang, and we were amazed by the rock houses."

Beigang has about 400 families, but most of the young people have left for better jobs in the cities, leaving behind only the elderly, women and children. Local lore has it that residents were scared their roofs would be blown away by the strong ocean winds, so they piled rocks on them. Later, they used rocks to build entire homes.

Impressed by the unique architecture and local hospitality, the couple decided to start a business in the "rock village".

"We wanted to use our experience developing homestays in Taiwan to try to build up accommodations business in Beigang," Lin said.

A slew of business-friendly policies helped their commercial plans take shape. One such policy was in August 2015 when a business park opened, aiming to lower the startup costs of enterprises launched by young people.