Shi Hui is a teacher and the vice-principal of a primary school in Huayuan County, in Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, in central China's Hunan Province. Shi, a native of Huayuan County, especially enjoys teaching her students ancient Chinese poems, as that helps cultivate their literary tastes. Her husband, Shi Kang, also a native of Huayuan County, has used livestreaming to promote rural revitalization in their hometown.
Shi Hui and Shi Kang, an ethnic Miao couple, have planted their "roots" in Huayuan, and they have worked diligently to help foster the development of their hometown. Earlier this year, their family was named a "Most Beautiful Family" by the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the All-China Women's Federation.
Homecoming
Shi Hui was born into an ordinary farmer's family, in Huayuan County, in August 1995. She is one year older than Shi Kang. Their parents left their hometown, to earn a living elsewhere, when they were young. Shi Hui was raised by her maternal grandparents; Shi Kang, by his paternal grandmother.
Shi Hui liked reading ancient poems when she was young, especially when she missed her parents. For her, ancient poems represented "a window," which broadened her horizons, and which gave her strength as she was growing from a child into an adult. In 2011, after she completed middle school, Shi Hui was recruited into an educational program, under the Normal College of Jishou University, in Jishou (a city in Xiangxi). She graduated from the university in 2016, and she returned to Huayuan to work as a teacher.
Shi Kang graduated from Hunan Vocational College of Engineering in 2018, with a major in design and animation production. He worked in Changsha (capital of Hunan) for about one year, where he focused on short-video media. He decided to return to Huayuan in 2020. Why? At that time, Shi Kang's father, Shi Jinlan, was head of the villagers' committee of Shibadong, a village in Huayuan. During the years prior to Shi Kang's return, Shi Jinlan had led the villagers in building roads and canals, to improve Shibadong's infrastructure. The village was in dire need of young talents, who could contribute their wisdom and strength to the rural revitalization of their hometown. Shi Kang answered the call; he returned home, without hesitation. He hoped to use the new-media skills, which he learned while in Changsha, to help boost Huayuan's development.
Falling in Love
Shi Hui and Shi Kang met during a matchmaking event, organized by the women's federation of Huayuan, on May 20, 2021. Shi Kang, who wore ethnic Miao clothes, used his camera to shoot photos and videos. He caught Shi Hui's attention; more importantly, he impressed Shi Hui by the way he introduced himself during the event. He said, "I entered a college to receive a higher education, because I was hoping to make our hometown a better place."
Shi Hui and Shi Kang began dating, and the young couple fell in love a short time later. In 2022, they were married and they hosted a traditional Miao wedding ceremony in Shibadong.
Shi Hui has given her husband advice to help him improve his livestreams. For example, she once suggested he livestream in their traditional Miao home. That environment would appeal to viewers, who might want to learn more about ethnic Miao culture and the Miao folk customs. Shi Kang has shown his viewers how to cook cured meat, how to collect honey, how to sing a traditional Miao song, and how to recognize various Miao embroidered patterns. Shi Kang has also invited several of the villagers to his home, to participate in his livestreams, to help them sell more of their agricultural products. It is common for Shi Kang to finish livestreaming after 8 p.m., at which time Shi Hui brings him the dinner she has cooked for him.
In 2024, Shi Hui suggested they invite elderly villagers to participate in the livestreams. "Our Miao aunties or grannies put on their beautiful ethnic dresses and accessories. They are not nervous when they are talking about something they are quite familiar with, such as embroidering and cooking," Shi Hui explains.
Family Traditions
Shi Hui and Shi Kang's extended, four-generation family is renowned in Shibadong for their family traditions.
Shi Jinlan has always urged his children, and his grandchildren, to pass on the family traditions. For example, he has stressed they need to do what is right, and they must do things to benefit their hometown, and society as a whole. "My father-in-law has told us that we not only need to do our things well, we must do our part to also help those in need," says Shi Hui.
While living with her parents-in-law, Shi Hui has inherited the virtue of showing love, care and filial piety. She helps her mother-in-law complete the chores, she takes care of her grandmother-in-law, and she helps maintain harmony within the big family.
During the summer of 2023, Shi Hui gave birth to a daughter, Shi Jingxi. Shi Kang helped care for their baby at night, so Shi Hui could have more sleep. Regarding the early education she and her husband have provided their daughter, Shi Hui explains, "We have treated our daughter like a friend, with whom we have formed an equal relationship. We accompany her, like we do with a friend."
Shared Love
As a primary school teacher, Shi Hui extends the same love and care that she provides to her family to her students. She teaches her students ancient poems, and she encourages the children to learn the Chinese philosophy expressed through those poems.
In 2024, Shi Hui competed in the Chinese Poetry Competition, a cultural television program, produced by China Media Group. Wearing traditional Miao clothes, Shi Hui appeared on stage as one of the top-100 contestants, from all walks of life and from across China. She was nervous, yet proud of herself. After she returned to school, following the competition, she told her students, "You will be able to shine on a stage one day, if you study hard now. Cherish the time you spend studying, and you will surely make your dreams come true." Encouraged by Shi Hui's words, and especially by her experiences, many of her students were determined to achieve their study goals.
In addition to teaching her students, Shi Hui cares about their lives. In 2021, she approached Hunan Library, seeking donations of books and assistance in building a reading room in her school. In 2022, she reached out to enterprises, seeking donations of milk, stationary and winter clothes for students in Huayuan.
In recent years, Shi Kang has accompanied his wife when she has visited students' homes, during weekends, to help her students complete their homework, and to play games with the kids. Shi Hui and Shi Kang have also organized poetry-reciting events for the students.
Shi Kang is secretary of the Communist Youth League branch of Shibadong. He has led the establishment of an e-commerce studio in the village for talented rural youths. Shibadong has a small population, fewer than 1,000 residents. More than 100 of the residents work in the e-commerce industry. Shi Kang has organized training sessions for the villagers. In particular, he established a team of volunteers to attract, and provide services to, young people who have received a higher education outside Shibadong, but who have returned to work in their hometown. In Shibadong and its neighboring areas, many young couples have returned to their hometowns to start businesses, like Shi Hui and Shi Kang chose to do.
"We do our things well. If we can bring a positive influence to others, by encouraging them to join in the rural revitalization of our hometown, we are promoting our family traditions in the best way," Shi Hui concludes.
Photos from Interviewee
(Women of China English Monthly September 2026)
Editor: Wang Shasha
