Cooking up a good life

Huanhe village, dating back to the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), is a rural haven nestled among the mountains in Dejiang county, Guizhou province, and is set to be the future tourist destination for those online, who have been attracted to its beautiful scenery of wooden houses, lush trees and the age-old well. It's all thanks to the videos by Ding Lang, who has returned to his hometown to launch his business. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Others have expressed a strong appetite for Zhang's cooking and the healthy lifestyle of the locals.

One video showing Zhang cooking cushaw flowers received over 1 million hits in one week after its release in July 2019, and a total of 55,000 viewers gave it thumbs-up.

"Many of the viewers didn't know cushaw flowers could be cooked and eaten, and said they'd buy some to cook at home after watching the video," Ding says.

The success of the video greatly boosted Ding's confidence after the setback of his initial business.

"I felt like my efforts were paying off," he says.