Students learn about rural vitalization in Ningbo village

The Utopia Xiangsen project commences on Dec 22 in Gejia village, Ningbo, Zhejiang province. [Photo/Ningbo Daily]

A group of Chinese students, hailing from prestigious universities from around the world, such as Harvard University and Cornell University, have taken up residence in Gejia village in Ningbo, Zhejiang province to learn about its rural vitalization efforts.

The "Utopia Xiangsen" project is an educational project launched by Hua Jiahe, a graduate student at Harvard University, to showcase the authentic beauty of Chinese villages to the world and join in rural vitalization efforts by organizing various workshops and classes for villagers and high school students.

The project commenced in Gejia village in Ningbo's Ninghai county on Dec 22. Twenty-one Chinese students are divided into four groups for art installation, architecture installation, music and dance, and operation and innovation.

Over the course of ten days, the art installation group will make a bamboo artwork entitled "warm village" with villagers; the architecture installation group will cooperate with locals to build a long table for community activities; the music and dance group will hold art classes a for local children; and the operation and innovation group will design packages for local pastries and promote them through livestreaming, short videos, social media platforms and more.

"We want the project to build a bridge between Chinese people and expats and offer them a look into real Chinese villages," said Hua.