Duo on a journey to preserve old villages

Guo Fuji and his partner Qiu Zhihao both graduated from college in recent years. Despite finding jobs, they embarked on a special journey to find and record ancient villages that are about to disappear.

Carrying heavy cameras, hiking through winding and rugged mountain paths rarely traveled by people, the two young men shoot videos of remote villages, where only lonely, old people live. They figure out ways to win the trust of the elderly, listen to their stories, and learn about their culture and folk customs.

"Many villages around us are becoming empty. Maybe after 10 to 20 years, the villages will be totally uninhabited. We hope that even if the villages disappear in the future, the later generations can still see their original look through our videos," said Guo, 23, who was born in a small village in Chenzhou, Hunan province.

The duo began their journey from villages near their hometown. The first video they recorded was in Longtou village in Chenzhou, which has a fine example of an ancient architecture called weiwu, a circular complex with many rooms and a traditional Chinese communal residence.

"The beauty of this ancient building deeply moved me, so I recorded it through the lens," Guo said.

Upon their arrival, a villager who lives there enthusiastically showed them around and shared stories from the past. He welcomed the two young men into his home. His wife even picked some persimmons from their field.

However, the kindness and warm welcome from strangers did not always come right away.

"Many senior villagers were initially a bit wary of us. They felt uneasy about the sudden arrival of young strangers as they might not have seen someone from outside their village throughout the year. They were afraid that we might be there to cheat," he said.

They would then explain their endeavor and show the videos. Most villagers agreed to cooperate, according to Guo.

He remembered a woman with a hearing impairment. Their first encounter with her was when they shot videos of villagers picking up wild vegetables beside a river.

"She welcomed us warmly, telling us, with gestures, that she worked at a nearby bed-and-breakfast," he said. "We promised to see her again."

On their second visit, the woman immediately recognized them, and offered them a platter of wild vegetables. She pointed to their mouths, indicating that these were meant for them to eat.

She then showed them around her farmland and fishpond, with a wide smile on her face. "She looked so happy and proud," Guo said, adding that he was touched by her positive attitude to life.

After those videos gained attention online, some netizens offered clues and suggestions.

On one occasion, they trekked for hours over steep hills to reach a village that was hard to access, to visit an old woman, the grandmother of one of their fans.

"It was hot that day, with the temperature around 30 C. We had to walk while asking for directions. The villagers we met were extremely warmhearted — they not only guided us along the way but also gave us freshly picked bayberries," he said.

As of now, Guo and Qui have recorded 21 villages in Guidong county, Chenzhou.

In mid-August, they traveled to Luojia village to seek out a rural craftsman, 70-year-old Li Jipan, who is good at bamboo weaving, carpentry and calligraphy. Over several days, they stayed at Li's home, interviewing and videotaping. The idea had come to Guo after he noticed photos of Li's handmade crafts on social media.

Li Jipan's daughter Li Xin said: "Nowadays, fewer young people are devoting themselves to traditional handicrafts. In fact, I used to have a deep affection for these traditional crafts. While I don't have time to learn and make them myself, I truly believe preserving this heritage holds great cultural significance."

Li Xin said her father was very pleased about Guo's proposal to make a video, as he feels he can still contribute to cultural inheritance in this way despite his age. "He always said he wanted an apprentice, but no one came," she added.

Li Xin agrees Guo and Qiu's efforts are meaningful. "Every old man represents an era. Their life is a mini-example of the era that belongs to them."

Some netizens mentioned offers of help to the old people seen in their videos, such as sending some necessities. But Guo said what they need more is a sponsor, so as to save on costs of filming.

The two young men plan to shoot all the empty villages in Hunan before expanding to other regions, although it already took them months to complete filming in just the Guidong county. They are also thinking about building a digital village museum.

"Villages possess their own resilience. I think the disappearance of such ancient villages isn't a failure — it's a reflection of how our era is changing. Moreover, the wisdom of these elderly people, passed down from an agrarian society, along with traditional crafts, are truly treasures of our Chinese cultural heritage," Guo said.

Zeng Yueru and Yang Che contributed to this story.