'New villagers'

Launched in October 2015 as the biggest art center in Pingnan, Antai Art City has attracted more than 10,000 visitors every year, according to Lin Zhenglu, the initiator and creative director of the project. In May, Antai welcomed its 30,000th visitor. And a small but significant proportion of these visitors have chosen to settle down in nearby villages, says Lin.

Zeng Wei is among such settlers. The 32-year-old Jiangxi native who is self-employed in cultural businesses, literally became a "new villager" in Pingnan last year after taking a 15-year tenancy on a house in Longtan, a poverty-stricken village 50 kilometers from Antai.

With the influx of new arrivals, the village has become lively again. Before May 2017, there were less than 200 locals, as the village had been so poor that many had left to work in nearby cities. Many families also relocated elsewhere. But with the emergence of the art project, within less than a year, more than 500 people－including 60-odd migrants from cultural and creative backgrounds－moved to Longtan to set up home there. A mixture of designers, bookshop owners, magazine publishers, engineers and directors, the new arrivals come from places as diverse as Shanghai, Jiangxi and Hong Kong, or even as far afield as the United Kingdom.

Zeng took up the painting classes on offer at Antai together with his wife in August 2016. He soon became enthralled with the cultural atmosphere, the beautiful scenery and its ancient architecture, which dates back to the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.

Zeng says the villages in Pingnan county want to develop into "a rural counterpart to Beijing's 798 art district" where galleries, studios, hostels and bars nestle between households of locals and recent settlers.

The couple turned their house into a library where they occasionally host a reading salon, and they are planning to open a cafe there later this year.

"I can meet people from around the world in this place," says Zeng. "I feel cozy here, not only because of its natural environment but also for the sincere way we get along with one another.

"The interpersonal relationships here are more relaxed than the ones you have in cities."

He adds that the improved infrastructure and emerging entertainment spots around the village make it more livable than before. Express courier services and the internet also allow villagers to work and shop from home, which is an added convenience.

When he's not learning to paint in the art center, Zeng spends the rest of his time working at a training agency in central Pingnan that provides teenagers with quality-oriented education. He also plans to open a branch in Longtan to help the local children.

"I think newcomers like me yearn for a lifestyle like this, one that isn't that of an urban commuter," Zeng says.