"The countryside is not a retreat for my life; instead, it's a vast stage, where I can explore infinite possibilities," says Xie Fangling, a young woman, born during the 1990s, and who helped renovate Songkou Ancient Town, in Yongtai County, and Gushi Village, in Lianjiang County, both in Fujian Province.
Songkou, a thousand-year-old town in Yongtai, was once a bustling business hub. It has hundreds of Ming and Qing dwellings — including weathered temples, ancient ferries and deep alleys — along pebble streets.
Xie, who majored in tourism planning, used to work at a planning institute in Beijing. In 2014, she learned about the revival project in Songkou. She says, "Songkou is like an ancient book waiting to be reopened. This project perfectly aligns with my major." Back then, though rich in cultural heritage, the town was fading; for example, many of the old buildings were crumbling.
The mountain-hidden town initially felt alien to the coastal-born Xie when she arrived. Nevertheless, she fell in love with the town's tranquility, and its simplicity. But it was the mixed look of doubt and hope on elderly residents' faces that made her stay. "They sat on their old thresholds, staring at us, as if asking, ‘What can you young people do here?' That gaze made us realize we weren't just completing a project, we were responding to an expectation," says Xie.
In 2016, her then-boyfriend (now husband), Shi Haonan, quit his job in Beijing to join her in the mountain town. They ran an inn; they knew it was more than work — it was a chance to build their dream. With her planning expertise and his architectural background, they complemented each other. What started as a short stay turned into a lifelong commitment; in fact, Xie now speaks the local dialect, and she understands the land's hidden stories.
"What attracts me most to the countryside? Two words: ‘Creation' and ‘vibrancy.' In cities, we're just cogs in a big machine; in the countryside, we can create, and witness, the land's transformation. This process, from nothing to something, old to new, fills every day with expectation," Xie says.
This sense of creation is clearly visible in her "Flower Planting Project." Xie and several villagers planted seeds and seedlings around their homes. The streets are now adorned with sunflowers and Dutch chrysanthemums, which add fresh color to the ancient town. Most surprisingly, the project spawned the "Flower Grannies," a team of 60-year-old-plus women, who tend the flowers daily, and who have become the town's most touching scenery. Through the project, the community grew closer. "We didn't just plant flowers; we planted community spirit, letting the seeds of beauty take root between people," Xie says.
Xie and her team have also transformed Lizhao Ju, a dilapidated, late-Qing dwelling in Songkou. They have turned the crumbling building into a public space, with tea rooms, exhibitions and workshops.
They retained the wooden frames and rammed-earth walls, and they added modern construction materials and floor-to-ceiling windows. The team preserved the original features, which helped revive the town's cultural heritage, while also made the dwelling more multifunctional.
Their efforts have attracted youth to the town. Those young people want to inherit ancient crafts and set up new forms of businesses, including bookstores, cafes and homestays. The young people are helping to ensure the town's sustainable development, without losing the town's essence, while also injecting fresh momentum into its development in the new era.
After Songkou's model was deemed a success, Xie took her experience to Gushi, a village by the seaside. Xie and her team restored nearly 100 stone houses, which then became homestays, cliffside cafes and coastal campsites. Transformation of the buildings not only revitalized the ancient village, but also attracted many television production companies to use the village as a backdrop. Such attention spurred village officials to accelerate the improvements; since then, roads have been widened and Internet speed has been increased.
Tourists are now more inclined to stay, experience the same scenes as in the TV shows, relax in distinct stone houses, and savor life in the fishing village. The village is now a rural ecosystem, capable of natural growth and sustained vitality, all the while embodying the most inspiring vision of rural revitalization.
"I'm a dream builder and supporter. I want to create a working atmosphere that empowers everyone to dream," Xie says. She now leads a team of young people — each of whom has a specialty, and each of whom is from a different region of China — who moved to the area to start his/her own business.
Xie's story reveals the countryside was never a fallback for the young people, but rather fertile ground for their dreams. When people devote themselves to preserving traditions, connecting with one another through genuine care, and illuminating life with creativity, the countryside can become a homeland, where the heart finds rest.
Xie is not merely a transformer of the rural landscape, but a tree that has grown from the region's soil, with roots deep and branches reaching for the sky. This is Xie's village: A home for the heart, and a place where dreams bloom.
Photos from Interviewee
(Women of China English Monthly December 2025)
Editor: Wang Shasha
