Zhejiang villages blossom with government effort

When I am on the eve of a business trip to cover an event in a rural area, I always pack some instant coffee. It's important I am able to satisfy my caffeine addiction and get my head straight to face a new day.

After all, chances are slim that I'll find freshly ground coffee in most villages. Yet, my trip to Jiaxing in late March made these preparations redundant.

A strong fragrance of coffee greeted my nose as I entered Lianfeng village in Nanhu district. The bar's rustic setting threw the features of its metallic coffee machine into sharp relief, while its wooden chairs and tables blended perfectly with the pastoral scene outside the window.

I had no hesitation ordering a cup to refresh myself and kick off my visit to the village.

The bar's owner, Chen Kaile, seemed laid back as he took my order, and the right corner of his mouth tilted up in the suggestion of a faint smile when I asked him why he'd opened a cafe in the village.

Chen was blunt. He said that the surprising changes to the village he'd felt whenever he returned there after working in cities had been the reason. His pride overflowed as he said how convenient transportation and the changing taste of residents were providing his business with a steady flow of patrons.

That made me a bit jealous, to the point that I pictured what it would be like if I had my own small business, or worked as a freelancer in such beautiful countryside.

My sense of envy only increased as I went a bit farther into the village. Women dressed in red and green martial art costumes were exercising against the backdrop of golden rapeseed flowers and two giant waterwheels, while neatly arranged houses with pink walls and black tiles were strewed across Lianfeng's vast green expanse.

I came across Xu Maorong holding an infant as I passed in front of her three-story house, which faces onto something of a miniature garden.

Pedestrian routes meandered across the grasslands, and stone bridges crossed over pools with fish and artificial lotus flowers.

She insisted I come inside and take a look at her new home, as if I was an old acquaintance.

Urban social decorum led me to partially accept her offer by standing near the threshold and having a quick look around the living room. It was spacious, and other guests were inside, drinking tea and chatting at a round table.

They were all villagers, and had been invited by Xu to celebrate the day her family moved into their new home, which was built on the site of her old house in 2022. "My friends from the city said that my house is practically built in a park," she said with a big smile.

Xu normally lives in downtown Jiaxing, about a half-hour drive from Lianfeng village where she was born.

She readily accepted the local government's offer to upgrade her old family property, as she got to pick the house's design for free, as well as renovate its external environment, such as the courtyard, which was all taken care of by local authorities.

She spent a little more than 400,000 yuan ($55,320) to have the house built, and around 1 million on decoration.

Xu said that her financial state has been greatly improved, which has enabled her to make her family's life better, especially as her parents are getting old.

"We will certainly come back more often," she said.

As I said goodbye and walked farther into the village, the picturesque pastoral scenes continued with winding green pathways and stone bridges over flowing water.

This is all a far cry from the landscape of roughly a decade ago, when unchecked pig farming caused heavy pollution.

This was addressed after years of effort, the removal of polluting pig farms, environmental restoration and nurturing new rural tourism.

Bidding farewell to Lianfeng, I dropped by the Zhongxi cherry blossom festival, which seemed to be the talk of the town. It was being held at a resort built at an urban-rural juncture in Pinghu district, about a 40-minute drive from Lianfeng.

Clusters of colorful cherry blossoms dominated the view at the resort, which resembles a huge park about 110 hectares in size.

The guide told me there are more than 10,000 cherry trees of eight varieties, complemented by other plant species, like tulips.

It was cloudy that day, but this obviously didn't prevent visitors from crowding into the place, taking pictures, camping or lying on the grass to relax.

I blended in, treating myself to some local specialties.

As I headed back to the train station, I couldn't help but think of Xu's hospitality and the modern conveniences in rural areas. They seemed to be proof of what local officials have said about Jiaxing's endeavors toward integrated rural and urban development.