What Can You Expect from the Countryside of China: My Journey to a Village Near Chengdu
This was my first time at Tieniu Village — located 56 kilometers from Chengdu, a car journey of some one and a half hours. Through city perimeters, green fields, and on into something peaceful. I have heard of this village many times. They trade oranges and tangerines at neighborhood markets near my place and occasionally organize neighborhood vegetable festivals on site. But I had never imagined it until I saw it myself.
My Memory of Chinese Villages
What does a Chinese village really look like?
When I was a kid, I used to live in my grandma’s village house in summer vocation. I still remember the summer nights there, in the middle of China — people liked to sleep outside or on balconies at summer night.
We used to sleep on cooling bamboo beds, with textile nets hanging to keep mosquitoes out.
Back then, the air was so clear. You could lie on your back with arms under your head and see the Milky Way clearly stretching across the sky. You’d hear frogs, cicadas, and sometimes a dog barking far away.
With all those natural sounds, under a sky full of stars and meteors, it felt like the world was so quiet — and your dreams, so close.
What About Now?
Now, the Milky Way has faded. I’ve never seen a galaxy as bright as the one in my childhood — not even in other random villages around the world.
But here in Tieniu Village, I saw people working hard to bring the clean sky and fresh air back.
Some young people — from cities, or even countryside areas themselves — came here to live, to rebuild, to grow something different. And yes, I can see all spots there are sustainably and really was touched.
A Vegan Lunch in the Fields
I was invited to join their daily life. Lunch was vegan — not just for health, but because many of the young villagers believe farming animals creates carbon emissions and should be done more sustainably.
The food still super delicious.
You can try:
- Citrus hotpot made from their own oranges and tangerines
- Sichuan-style vegan starters and desserts
- Even Dongyingong-style hotpot, made fully plant-based
It’s all local, all seasonal, all full of Sichuan flavor.
Farm Work, Crafting, and Tea with Friends
After lunch, I joined some of the villagers doing their daily work. We tried some light farm work, just to feel how Chinese farmers live and move through the day.
Then I sat with local grandmas and aunties, making small handmade crafts together. We talked, laughed, and drank tea. They taught me how to do plant-based tie-dye and weaving, and genuinely cared about what I wanted to create.
We hanging around in the farm and visit the local farmers' home.
You can do a lot in the village — or you can do almost nothing. And either way, time feels kind to you.
And Yes… There Are Puppies
Okay. Important note: there are puppies in the village recently.
If you’re like me and love dogs, you’ll be excited.
You can come with Bridge to Locals to here harry up — they would gonna be big digs very soon.
So What Can You Expect from the Countryside of China?
Not just farmland. Not just "the past."
But a kind of slow living. A way of life rebuilt by people who care.
Fresh air, warm smiles, hot tea, and stories told under the trees.
Come visit. You’ll see for yourself
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