Why Are Urban Youth Choosing the Countryside?

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Foodthink Says

Last Monday, we shared why more than a dozen young people decided to hit pause on their city lives. So why, instead of choosing to ‘lie flat’, have they headed to the countryside to learn farming and embrace a more labour-intensive, challenging way of life?

Here are a selection of representative responses. A few have already set off, ready to begin a down-to-earth new life on a training farm.

We wish the members of Foodthink’s 2023 ‘Ecological Agriculture Internship Programme’ every success in finding their answers in the soil and nature, through work and learning.

Reflections and Action Sparked by Food

Zhaoyan

Female, 34, bachelor’s degree in automation, currently not employed

In 2021, after leaving my job in Beijing due to my mental and physical health, I returned to my home town and stayed for nearly a year. Our county proudly claims the title of the “Number One Vegetable County of the North” and is also known as the “Hometown of X Melons,” with over a million mu dedicated to fruit and vegetable cultivation. I had assumed I could buy fresh, tasty vegetables in my home town, but I was sorely mistaken. The local shops only carried wholesale produce, much the same as in Beijing. There was no trace of the vegetables I remembered from childhood, and healthy produce was out of the question.

A visit to the agricultural supplies shop left me stunned by the sheer variety and range of pesticides and chemicals on sale. Banners right beside the vegetable and melon greenhouses blatantly advertised agents to fatten leeks, redden fruit and melons, speed up growth, and even chemicals to make eggplants dark and glossy.

My parents shared my frustration but felt powerless to do anything about it. I decided to try ecological vegetable farming myself. On a personal level, it would put better food on my family’s table. On a broader scale, if I could shift the mindset of the local greenhouse growers, weaning them off pesticides and synthetic fertilisers and helping them recapture the authentic flavour of vegetables from my childhood, I felt it would be a truly meaningful undertaking.

● Last year’s intern, Zhang Bin, has returned to his home town in Longnan. Taking up his grandfather’s mantle, he now tends the highland sheep flocks and hopes to gradually shift the farming practices and livelihoods of other local shepherds. The photograph shows him carefully looking after the lambs on the farm during his internship with Zhiliangtian.
Dengdeng

Male, aged 23. After graduating with a degree in Optoelectronic Information Science and Engineering, he took a job at a state-owned enterprise, but his ambitions lay elsewhere.

Long confined within the urban cage, one inevitably yearns to return to nature. I grew up in a village, with a vast expanse of farmland stretching right out from our doorstep. I vividly remember this scene: standing at the door at dawn, a sea of green unfolding before my eyes. I would take a deep breath, and the cool morning air would drift through my nostrils and past my gap-toothed smile, making me feel as though I were floating, ready to dissolve into that verdant landscape. Now and then, the distant call of a bird would drift by, or a farmer would make their way through the fields. Sunlight would slowly spill across the paddy fields, rippling and reflecting until the young rice shoots seemed to shimmer.

I visited the fields less often as I grew older. It was only after starting work in the city that I realised my greatest comfort comes when I am closest to the earth.

Working in the city and cooking alone for myself, I began to notice the subtle differences between varieties of the same fruit or vegetable. For instance, some tomatoes have a mealy texture that I prefer for scrambled eggs with tomatoes, while others make a far superior base for tomato soup. I’ve always been someone who likes to get to the root of things. I simply wanted to see how my beloved vegetables and fruits grew from the ground up, and to understand exactly what shapes their flavour.

● One of the main responsibilities for interns at Yuefeng Island in Kunshan is to collect, cultivate, document, and manage hundreds of heritage varieties of rice, traditional grains, and vegetables.
Weiwen

31. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture, she spent a year working in a consensus community in the United States. Upon returning to China, she embraced a ‘slash’ lifestyle, juggling careers as a translator, photographer, and English teacher.

I identify as an environmentalist and actively embrace organic living. I avoid ordering takeaways, preferring to shop for ingredients and cook at home. When selecting food, I carefully check the ingredient lists on packaging. Any plastic containers I encounter from supermarkets or restaurant deliveries are thoroughly washed, collected, and passed to trusted recycling facilities for proper reprocessing. To me, this is far more than a set of daily habits; it is a values-driven philosophy. Through this way of life, the body itself becomes part of a circular system. By keeping the cycle of reuse active and allowing oneself to return to a more fundamental state, we step outside the role of a mere consumer. Freed from constant consumption, we can direct more attention inward and towards cultivating the communities that surround us.

A central thread in this lifestyle is the land itself. Vast tracts are continually acquired for development, while countless others are stripped of vitality by heavy fertiliser use and pesticide runoff. The trade in premium, heavily packaged fruit serves as a stark example. Organically grown produce that is nutritious and delicious but visually unappealing often fails to sell. Driven by market demands, farmers turn to synthetic fertilisers and chemical sprays to guarantee both aesthetic appeal and flavour, at the cost of degrading the soil. Consumers then pay a premium for these fruits. The result is a vicious cycle: society pays inflated prices for nutritionally compromised produce while simultaneously degrading the earth that sustains us. In the end, humanity bears the brunt of this damage.

Ecological farms play a vital role in the sustainable development of both our planet and humanity. I am particularly keen on establishing such farms as hubs for Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA), partnering with local authorities to launch environmental and civic initiatives. The aim is to foster sustainable living within the surrounding region and inspire greater local participation. This approach begins with recognising ourselves as living beings rather than disposable commodities. We must all take responsibility for what we put on our plates; eating should never be a mere routine. Access to organic, wholesome food is a gift from nature and constitutes a fundamental dignity of human life.

●A farm internship is about more than just learning to cultivate the land; it’s also a chance to sharpen your cooking skills. The pumpkin cakes baked by previous intern Tiantian won over every visitor to Zhiliangtian Farm.

Master hands-on skills and practical knowledge

Yancha

26 years old. After completing a bachelor’s degree in Environment and Sustainability in the UK, Yancha returned to China and worked for two non-profit organisations focused on environmental and agricultural issues. Yancha is now preparing to leave their current role.

I’ve harboured a keen curiosity and affinity for farming ever since university. Whenever I visited my grandparents in the countryside, I always enjoyed wandering through their fields. Since stepping into the field of sustainable agriculture last year, that curiosity—particularly regarding ecological farming—has only intensified. To me, textbook knowledge can feel rather dry, or even somewhat detached from reality. I want to work on the front lines of cultivation, properly experience rural life as a farmer, and personally oversee every stage of ecological farming.

● Alongside learning the ropes of farming, interns will also be involved in sales-related activities such as order fulfilment, selling at local markets, and customer service. The image shows interns from the previous cohort, Xiaofang and Tang Liang, heading to a market in Chengdu to sell vegetables.
Hezi

Female, 23. After completing her undergraduate degree at an agricultural college, she works as an agricultural training instructor at an agribusiness.

I have always held a deep interest in ecological agriculture. In my first role, I frequently pondered the interplay between ecological farming, crop yields, soil health, and rural communities, as well as where the balance lies. Regrettably, my current professional experience has not yet provided those answers.

In the future, I am highly likely to pursue a career in ecological agriculture, or return to my hometown as a young entrepreneur. I hope this internship will deepen my understanding of the field.

Xinyi

31. With a bachelor’s degree in German, she formerly worked as a chef in fine-dining establishments across Beijing and Canada. After leaving her post, she returned home to take a rest.

Since stepping away from my previous role, I have been resting in my hometown. Now, I am seeking a fresh environment to help me rebuild my connection with the land, water, and ingredients that shaped my upbringing. I aim to broaden my profoundly limited understanding of agriculture and nature in my hometown and the wider country, while urgently hoping to spark new reflections that will provide me with the motivation and direction to move forward.

I have long followed issues surrounding environmental protection, flora and fauna, and water resources. Over the past two years, my interests have expanded to encompass climate change, agriculture, cultivation, and the lifestyle and operations of farming communities. I also hope this internship will allow me to test what I can achieve in a new field and region, and to discover the true limits of my capabilities.

Autumn

Male, 22. Recent graduate from the Chinese language and literature department.

Farms and agriculture may well cultivate a vital and unique body of knowledge. During my undergraduate studies, I gained indirect exposure to farming and rural life through various avenues. When a lecturer once referenced the slogan “take grain production as the key link,” it felt quite unfamiliar to us as students. It strikes me that civilisation, in certain ways, is gradually distancing us from the very things laid out before us, particularly our food. Through practical experience, I hope to understand and become involved in the full story of their origins and development.

Mu Bai

Female, 26. Completed her undergraduate and master’s studies in chemistry in the UK. Left her previous job.

Through a series of documentaries, I began to consider agriculture as a way of tackling climate change. I have always sought a way to live in harmony with nature, and I am keen to understand how food is produced, as well as to explore how farming can meet human needs while remaining ecologically sound.

I also want to see what agriculture truly looks like in practice. Although I have studied permaculture, drawn profound inspiration from *The One-Straw Revolution* and *Qimin Yaoshu* (*Essential Techniques for the Welfare of the People*), and read numerous books on cultivation to build a theoretical foundation, I still lack a comprehensive grasp of vegetable and fruit tree growing, alongside broader agricultural production. I need more hands-on practice. What I am most eager to learn is cultivation: understanding the complete life cycle of plants, working with seeds, and additionally, gaining insight into product processing and farm management. I hope to spend an extended period engaged in on-farm production, discovering my strengths through practical experience.

● Working in the fields is the most important lesson of the internship.

Understanding agriculture and rural life through practice

Xiaohui

Male, 23. A recent graduate in social work who participated in agricultural initiatives across various regions of the country during his university years, and also managed ecological farming projects on campus.

Over my four years at university, I increasingly recognised the limitations of specialised professional education in fostering positive development for both individuals and society, and how inadequate it proves when confronting today’s systemic and structural social challenges.

Having spent my childhood in the countryside, I was struck when I moved to university to find large swathes of the campus’s agricultural land left idle. I felt a profound sense of wasted potential regarding both the curriculum and my peers, constantly hoping I could do something to bridge the gap. In 2020, I secured a placement with a family-run farm to learn ecological growing methods, which laid the groundwork for the campus farming project that followed. Unfortunately, the area was later hit by flooding that wiped out the crops overnight. It was a harsh lesson in how difficult cultivation is, and a stark reminder of the effort behind the food on our plates. This experience drove me to actively research the far-reaching impacts of climate anomalies across different regions, communities, and stages of the food system.

Young people studying in universities across major cities must gradually come to terms with this reality. They need to understand that future education and careers will increasingly centre on learning to live in balance with the world around us. I believe navigating this path demands a different kind of education. If I am to commit to it, I have to step outside the university bubble, make certain sacrifices, and get hands-on experience for myself.

● Last year, Yilin Farm in Guangzhou endured month-long spells of drought and waterlogging. Climate change will also be a key area of study and focus for the interns at the farm.
Linghua

Female, 24, currently a graduate student in anthropology.

Whether reading *The Omnivore’s Dilemma* or *The Crisis on the Dining Table*, I get the distinct impression that our current way of life is unfriendly to the planet’s environment, our local surroundings, other animal species, and even our own bodies. The issue of antibiotic overuse highlighted in *The Crisis on the Dining Table*, in particular, is downright shocking.

Ecological agriculture brings my own field of study to mind. What real difference can the subjects explored in ethnology, anthropology, and indeed sociology make to this world? In a society currently dominated by the pursuit of speed, scale, and visual perfection, what kind of change can ecological agriculture actually bring about? Who are the people persisting with ecological farming? What exactly is it? How does it differ from China’s traditional agriculture? And if it is the same, are we simply walking a path of “regression”?

Most crucially, are those who choose ecological agriculture romanticising a path of ascetic hardship, carving out an alternative route as internet influencers beneath the mainstream ideals of speed, scale, and visual perfection, or are their actions genuinely having an impact on local ecosystems and communities? If they are, what kind of effect qualifies as an “impact,” and what truly makes it “meaningful”?

I have been grappling with these questions for a long time. It all stems from my father’s constant insistence that the pork from his youth tasted better and actually carried the flavour of pork. He believes today’s pork is all feedlot meat and no longer belongs to the old breeds. I haven’t felt this loss myself; I’ve simply grown accustomed to the taste of pork as it is now. This left me curious: when we try to satisfy my father’s nostalgia for the pork of “before,” what exactly are we satisfying?

Practising an internally coherent way of life and work

A Yue

Male, 25. After graduating with a diploma in marketing, he worked as an insurance salesperson and a pharmaceutical representative. Disliking certain ingrained workplace habits, he hopes to return to his hometown to settle down and launch his own venture.

I grew up in a small village in Anhui, where our family farmed soybeans and wheat. From a young age, I was out in the fields: ploughing, spreading fertiliser, sowing seeds, hoeing out weeds when the seedlings first sprouted, pulling weeds by hand mid-season, shouldering a sprayer tank for pesticides, and harvesting wheat and soybeans with a sickle. We ran the crops through a thresher (afterward, we’d roughly sieve the grain and comb the field for scattered beans), then dry and store them in the granary.

In my youth, I’d often roam the paddies and fields catching fish, digging for prawns, snaring crabs, chasing wild rabbits, tracking ring-necked pheasants, and cornering hedgehogs. Nowadays, none of them remain when I visit home. The degradation is stark: the soil has grown compacted and lifeless, and chemical fertiliser use has escalated year on year. Even digging for worms for bait is a struggle these days.

I still remember spraying pesticides: even in full protective gear, I’d return with my skin raw, red, and itchy for days on end. My mother once told me about a local man who suffered a similar ordeal. The chemical burn on his feet became so unbearably itchy and painful that, in desperation, he sprayed more pesticide directly onto the wound, resigned to the thought that if he died, he died, just to end the torment. Miraculously, it soothed the irritation instead.

During holidays in my first year at a vocational college in the city, I still went back to lend a hand. After starting work, I grew spring onions, garlic, and chillies in my rented accommodation, along with tomatoes, cucumbers, luffa, and pumpkins. I’ve always enjoyed the physical work, have no trouble weathering the hardship, and am keen to learn ecological farming techniques.

Since my last contract ended, I’ve made no move to seek another job, living instead on savings in my own rented flat. I shop and cook for myself, while passing the days with long walks, reading, films, music, video games, gardening, and tending to the landlord’s dozens of potted succulents. Being free from those bloody corporate jobs from before is an absolute joy, and I rarely give a second thought to what I might do next.

Technology and agriculture are the two paths I’m considering. But the mere thought of the tech industry’s dreaded 9-to-9, six-day-a-week schedule makes me shudder; I’d much rather be out in the fields racing the harvest than sitting in an office.

● Weeding is one of the most labour-intensive tasks on an ecological farm.
Xiuxiu

Female, 30, Master’s in Clinical Medicine. Spent a year volunteering at a temple.

I have a few acres of land in my hometown. Before starting university, I worked in the fields every year, so agricultural labour is nothing new to me. Farming has been a deeply held aspiration of mine for the past few years. This stems partly from a longing for a pastoral life and natural cultivation, and partly from my spiritual beliefs. I have always sought to explore the deeper dimensions of life, and the more I reflect, the more I come to see that the soil and nature are inextricably linked to life’s very essence. Honest work brings a profound sense of joy, and it is only amid the natural world that one can truly grasp the meaning of “harmony between humanity and nature”.

Having cooked my own meals and shopped for groceries over the past two years, I have become acutely aware of food safety concerns. I have come to realise that rather than doing superfluous work simply for a wage and leaving my food security and personal well-being in the hands of others, it is far better to take matters into my own hands and grow my own.

Now at a crossroads in my career, my commitment to agriculture has only strengthened. To gain hands-on experience and real learning, rather than merely letting the idea exist in my imagination, I plan to take part in an ecological farm internship programme.

Liudazhuo

Female, 27. Holds a higher vocational diploma in Western pastry and culinary arts. Previously worked in the pastry kitchens of five-star hotels and international cruise ships. Launched her own venture in 2019, dedicating herself to nature and environmental education rooted in her hometown.

  • Embrace diverse experiences, exploring the balance between life and work, and discovering further possibilities;
  • Cultivate a grounded, earthy spirit, and hone patience and resilience;
  • Connect with like-minded companions and rediscover the dynamics of teamwork;
  • View ecological farming through the lenses of nature education, environmental stewardship, and zero-waste principles, for a more profound experience;
  • Use ecological farming as a means to better understand the relationships between nature, crops, other living beings, and people;
  • Enjoy wholesome food and immerse in the culinary cultures of different regions;
  • Explore how climate change impacts ecological agriculture;
● Stretching and recovering with yoga poses by the vegetable patch—would you consider that a form of work–life balance?
Guojing

Female, 26. Having graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Europe, she secured a place on a sociology/anthropology master’s programme at a top US university and is currently on a gap year.

I long to touch the earth, even though I have been avoiding it for so long.

I want to use my body. To forge it, to tire it out, and to blend it with nature, soil, and wind. I want to test whether, through this, I can arrive at a new, sincere, and grounded answer to what is truly essential to living.

Starting from the most fundamental elements—land and food—I want to become a solid person, laying the groundwork for both mind and body. To cultivate my judgement on basic needs and values.

I want to learn cultivation and related skills, earning the food that sustains me with my own physical labour. This is a form of respect for consuming and procuring food. I want to know what it truly feels like when planting, tending, physical exertion, fear, harvest, eating, sharing, selling, and storing are all woven together.

In my childhood, I was allowed to return to my hometown during summer holidays. There was lighting fires, riding wild horses, catching hopping chickens on the grasslands, but also scattered plastic bottles at my feet, and newspaper reports about pasture degradation and overgrazing back home—all muddled together. Poor education and healthcare, harsh weather, my mother’s resistance to our hometown, and her own ambitions all gradually pulled me away. I know I am loved by the leaves and nature, and I hold plenty of passion, yet I always feel powerless.

I have plenty of ideas but little practice, and I lack a community of like-minded people. I am someone who only finds vitality and renewal through action, so I need to confront this trait in myself. The round-the-clock work on a farm, and the observation of plants and animals, present a fitting opportunity to answer all the above.

I read the reflections from last year’s interns and farm mentors, and I believe I can learn a great deal from these farmers. I resonate with their values and admire their skills and simplicity. Simply put, I aspire to be more like them than a professor.

● For some reason, the internship programme has drawn particular attention from students of sociology and anthropology. Last year, after her internship on the farm, Jingwen changed her plans to apply for a PhD in anthropology and decided to continue living and working in the countryside.

Next Stop: The Field

These young people, full of anticipation for agriculture, may have been drawn in by the headline for this year’s internship programme—“This new year, would you be willing to trade your way of life for one in the countryside?”—but there is no doubt they are not romanticising the countryside, nor are they using “going rural” as an escape from city life. Rather, out of careful consideration, they wish to explore a more coherent, grounded way of working and living, using hands-on experience to seek answers to questions that have long captivated them.

Once they arrive in the field, what stories will they encounter, what will they gain, and what new ideas will take shape? Stay tuned for further reporting from Foodthink.

Eco-farm Internship Programme Series ▼

Project Coordination: Ma Xiaochao

Editor: Tianle

Published by Foodthink