久久亚洲国产成人影院-久久亚洲国产的中文-久久亚洲国产高清-久久亚洲国产精品-亚洲图片偷拍自拍-亚洲图色视频

Homing in on a new life

By Xu Lin/Zhu Youfang | China Daily | Updated: 2022-10-26 07:27
Share
Share - WeChat
The elegant carved patterns on old wooden doors are ubiquitous in the courtyard. [Photo by Xu Lin/China Daily]

Dilemma, decision

In 2008, Lei Ming's mother wanted the old house in their hometown to be taken down and rebuilt in somewhat of a European style. The son says he instead decided to repair the house for his parents to live out their retirement after they wanted to move from Beijing.

At first, he had a rough plan — he constructed a building, two pavilions and a bridge in the first year, but in the next year, he had more ideas. He had no notion then that it would be such a massive project, or a "sweet burden", for the whole family.

By 2019, the courtyard had developed to its current scale, and in 2021, four small bridges were built near the courtyard, to make the surroundings "more harmonious".

Lei Ming temporarily suspended the expansion of the complex due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He had hired about 40 craftspeople earlier for the repairs but kept only a few later.

"I want to share the beauty with others, display my precious collection, and maintain the courtyard well. But it's strenuous work, and my family members try their best to help," he says.

There is a division of labor for all the adults in the Lei family. The elderly are in charge of planting vegetables, raising livestock and cooking, while the Lei brothers and Qin are responsible for all other important issues of the complex. Currently, they organize cultural events for companies and receive individual guests, to cover the water and electricity costs and salaries of the craftspeople working there.

"We want to concentrate our energy on improving the courtyard itself. We don't do much publicity but gain visitors by word-of-mouth, especially among those interested in traditional culture," Lei Ming says.

Art institutions sent students to draw in the courtyard and visitors from neighboring regions drive for several hours to view the complex, sample the food made by the Lei brothers' parents and uncle, and stay overnight.

The story of the Lei brothers, and Qin, is a bit unusual for urban dwellers — three well-educated people quit their careers in a big city in their 30s to devote time to a family courtyard in a small county and lead an idyllic life. Unlike small families in big cities, the Lei family's lifestyle was not uncommon in rural areas of the country earlier. The family put all its savings into the courtyard and is about 5 million yuan in debt, of which 2 million is a low-interest loan from the local government.

Qin, who's in charge of the courtyard's operation, recalls that soon after she sold her apartment in Beijing in 2016, its market price increased by about 2 million yuan. Qin says she comforts herself thinking that the value they've created in the courtyard is more. While she was in Beijing, Qin often spoke with people in the art world and got interested in the family's antiques. Nonetheless, it took her a long time to make the decision to return and adapt to the new environment in Ganxitan.

"I have to tackle some issues caused mainly by the urban-rural disparity. For example, our avant-garde ideas are different from others, and my eldest daughter, who returned here at the age of 6, was unaccustomed to some things in school at first," she says.

"We want to turn the courtyard into an energetic place, displaying the folk culture of the farming community," Qin says, adding that many people have encouraged them to continue the work, and she hopes to win more support from the government to improve the surrounding infrastructure, such as a parking lot.

|<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next   >>|

Related Stories

Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
主站蜘蛛池模板: aaa欧美| 成年黄色网址 | 三级理论手机在线观看视频 | 亚洲一级毛片 | 亚洲精品久久久久影 | 国产高清在线精品一区二区三区 | 91香蕉国产 | 国产香蕉尹人综合在线观 | 午夜成年 | 国产精品日韩专区 | 久久成人18免费 | 免费不卡毛片 | 成人免费观看视频久爱网 | 欧美大片在线播放 | 欧美国产日韩在线观看 | 久久在线资源 | 美国一级毛片免费 | 国产欧美精品一区二区 | 加勒比一区在线 | 日本 片 成人 在线 日本68xxxxxxxxx老师 | 99爱视频免费高清在线观看 | 亚洲自拍偷拍图 | 欧美日韩一区二区中文字幕视频 | 婷婷亚洲久悠悠色在线播放 | 亚洲视频中文字幕在线 | 欧美成人aaa大片 | 看一级特黄a大片日本片 | 9191精品国产费久久 | 亚洲精品国产精品国自产网站 | 香港三级88久久经典 | 国产三级在线免费观看 | 国产精品一区二区丝瓜 | 久操精品在线 | 国产高清精品一区 | 成人在线a | 国产伦码精品一区二区 | 日韩美视频网站 | 高清在线亚洲精品国产二区 | 久久欧洲视频 | 国产午夜在线观看视频播放 | 日韩精品观看 |