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]

Collective contribution

Ding then visited Huanhe at least three times a week, making more videos about the village.

However, Huanhe is about 26 kilometers from his home, and the mountain road doesn't make traveling easy.

It was not until October 2019 that Ding decided to settle down in the village, when one of his videos featuring Zhang cooking purple sweet potatoes helped a local rural cooperative receive 5,000 orders for its produce.

The video ended up having over 10 million views.

Now, Ding has invited three of his friends to join his new venture.

"I can better focus on making videos here and I think about my future in the tranquil village at night," Ding says.

Ding's arrival has also brought positive changes to the village. He visits the elderly and cooks for them from time to time.

He also made donations to have streetlamps installed, so villagers can see where they are going at night.

Ding has also brought in purple sweet potato seedlings and has encouraged locals to grow them.

"If sales are good online, I will scale up production in the village," Ding says.