Mrs. Magdalena(left 3) and Mr. Artur (left 2)chatted with a woman of Bouyei nationality in Dingwang Village in November.

Rural areas are the shared home of humankind.

Dr. Magdalena Gimbut and Dr. Artur Piotr Rega are a doctoral couple working in Ningbo Tech University. By chance, they stepped into Gejia Village, Ninghai County in Ningbo. At that every moment, an idea flashed across their minds: the village was exactly what they dreamed of. They also had a vague glimpse: Art inspired the creativity of the villagers in a "mysterious way".

Driven by the pursuit of the "mysterious way", the couple visited numerous villages in China, Gejia Village alone for seven times, others including Dingwang Village, Qinglong County in Guizhou Province, Chengyang Village in Dongqian Lake Tourist Resort in Ningbo and Jiulong Lake Village, Zhenhai District, Ningbo. 

Experience in rural areas enriched their knowledge and progressively the couple dug deeper into China's rural revitalization. After several months of research, They believe that the core of rural revitalization in China is to inspire villagers, whether through art or through other means. When the villagers change, so will the village. At the same time, we should respect the natural characteristics of the village and change the original style of the village as little as possible. 

On December 27th, at the invitation of Ningbo Open University, Magdalena and Artur joined a sharing session, with officials working in villages discussing the path of China’s rural revitalization from a global perspective.