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China's millennial 'new farmers' opt to live off the land
Around 20 million people have joined what China's government terms a "new farmer" movement, some of whom have millions of social media followers as they post on their lifestyles.
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This photo taken on October 28, 2021 shows farmer Zhang Yunzhuo picking beans in a field in Chongming island in Shanghai. (AFP/Jessica Yang)
H
u Siqin had a promising career in Shanghai with a Fortune 500 company and more than enough money, but something was missing under the bright lights of the big city, a sense of what she calls "roots".
So the 33-year-old chucked it all in to lay down literal roots as part of a nascent back-to-the-farm movement in which young Chinese professionals are quitting the rat race for the simple joys of an organic, agrarian lifestyle.
"People like me don't feel that material comforts stimulate us, and deep down we remain unsatisfied," said Hu.
"So we’ve started thinking, what is the purpose of our lives? What am I living for?"
In many ways, it's a homecoming. Before the 20th century China was a primarily agrarian country for thousands of years, most of its vast population scratching out a life from the soil.
The ruling Communist Party, however, has for decades officially encouraged urbanisation and migration to growing cities to help lift millions out of rural poverty and build a more modern, consumer-oriented economy.
But with a measure of national prosperity now reached, attitudes are reversing among some people.
