Rural revitalization, rural infrastructure, social change, and public services.
I. The Seed Bottleneck Farmers in Guzai Yao Ethnic Township, Mashan County, north of Nanning, saw their incomes rise sharply from growing chayote seedlings. Yet since last year, they have found themselves with nothing left to plant. 2024 brought multiple spells of extreme rainfall to Guangxi. In Mashan, the relentless…
In the 2025 Spring Festival release *Ne Zha 2*, the leopard demon Shen Xiaobao won over audiences with his witty and endearing portrayal. Yet, his grievous injuries and uncertain fate in the film bring to mind the endangered North China leopard (*Panthera pardus japonensis*) of the real world. This subspecies,…
A Note from Foodthink Termitomyces mushrooms, known locally as “Summer Solstice Mushrooms” in Shaoguan, Guangdong, have become a culinary trend in recent years, sparking a foraging frenzy across northern Guangdong. CaiCai and Dayan from the “Chunchao Springflut” studio ventured into Yao communities and inadvertently found themselves among the ranks of…
I. Returning to 2011 The reserve shuttle bus pulled over beside a narrow concrete track, flanked on either side by familiar-looking karst hills. It passed through a stand of sugarcane; in truth, countless bald limestone outcrops are ringed by cane fields. Unlike the purple-skinned varieties eaten fresh, this cane bears…
Foodthink Says This year is on track to be the hottest on record. Yet at the recently concluded twenty-ninth UN Climate Change Conference, nations continued to dispute funding allocations, repeatedly bringing negotiations to a standstill. The climate finance gap for agriculture, in particular, remains staggering. So, when we talk about…
Foodthink Says What kind of agricultural training do farmers actually need? After nearly twenty years working in rural communities across the country, Lao Liu (Huang Guoliang) has some thoughts on the matter. In his view, understanding agricultural training begins with answering a more fundamental question: what kind of knowledge framework…
Sichuan Pepper Trees Are Moving Uphill In 2004, I was conducting field research in a village in Mao County, Sichuan. A local resident remarked, “Sichuan pepper trees are moving up the mountains.” He meant that these trees once thrived in the river valleys, but conditions have changed. They now grow…
Open Xiaohongshu and search for rainforest hiking, and you’ll find plenty of creators using phrases like “pristine wilderness”, “enveloped by nature”, “disconnected from it all”, and “connecting with primal life force” to describe the emotional resonance the rainforest provides. In September 2024, friends and I also ventured into a tropical…
I. A Village Party Secretary, Out of Nowhere “Ecological farming?” Fan Hanquan, who had been facing away from us, suddenly turned around. “I’d like to give it a try.” I was taken slightly aback. It was 23 February 2022. I remember the date so clearly because, since I first arrived…
Another Mid-Autumn Festival has come around. Gifts pass between relatives and friends, and mooncakes invariably take centre stage. The tins range from ornate to understated: Cantonese or Suzhou style, fresh meat or strictly vegan, handmade and organic. Here comes a venerable Hong Kong brand; over there, it’s the latest viral…
