Country living

Tourists visit Wucun for its pastoral appeal. The village in the famous water town Wuzhen in Zhejiang province has been developed into a tourist attraction that brings city people close to nature, and they can enjoy fresh food directly from the fields. Photo by Yang Feiyue / China Daily

Cyclists can rent bikes to wheel around the village's perimeter.

Cultural types can play xiangqi (Chinese chess), take handicraft lessons and learn how to perform with waist drums, which local people traditionally do to celebrate bumper harvests.

There are old-film screenings, reading activities and bonfire parties.

Visitors can fish for lobsters, harvest crops and learn how to cook dishes like local farmers under their tutelage.

"We've hired over 40 farmers to run farming activities," Xu says.

"After all, who knows farming better than farmers?"

This has boosted local employment, she says.

Zhu Xinfu teaches farmers to plant and manages shipments of food surpluses between Wucun and the rest of Wuzhen.

He starts at 7 am and finishes at 5 pm.

The 51-year-old's skin is baked by the sun, and he's clad in a threadbare shirt and trousers.

"There's more work than before," Zhu says.

"And more income."

The local government helped him build a three-story house on a 120-square-meter plot near Wucun after taking his old home in the village three years ago.

He lives with his wife, child and mother. The family rents out part of the house.

He says he's happy with his better standard of living.