TV show's rural charm

Displaced celebrities raise the profile of pastoral locales, Xing Wen reports.

Dirty hands, happy mind! That's the advice being touted by celebrities on a recent reality TV show. The stars, drawn from sport, stage and screen, are seen living and experiencing a self-sufficient rural life in the show, Ha Ha Farmers, which has been airing on MGTV, an online video platform based in Changsha, Central China's Hunan province.

The group includes actors Jia Nailiang and Jin Han, pop star Wang Yuan, singer Yang Chaoyue and former national fencing team member, Dong Li. All of them experience a farmer's day-to-day life in rural areas, learning how to plow fields, sow and reap crops, and fish.