Like millions of Chinese urban professionals, the trio is simply enjoying their newfound freedom of mobility. Before the 1980s nearly all Chinese made do with bicycles, but the country’s economic transition has unlocked a passion for autos. More than 2 million cars were sold in China last year–80 percent more than in 2002. And with the car boom, Chinese are discovering the joy of road trips.
That’s turned out to be a blessing for local farmers like Liu Jinglong. In the late 1990s Liu noticed more and more cars with Beijing license plates passing through his village of Duijiuyu, about 52 kilometers from the capital. Some of the urban refugees stopped to ask if they could buy a home-cooked meal or even stay the night. So in 1998 Liu invested a few thousand dollars and built half a dozen rooms (each complete with a traditional clay bed–called a kang–heated by coals), dug three fish ponds, hung a few red lanterns and opened for business. Nowadays, Folkways Vacation Village is almost always full on weekends. Liu makes roughly $7,000 a year–a fortune in rural China. Managing the business is easier than working the land; now he tends only a small garden where he sometimes teaches city slickers how to plant and harvest. “These city folk don’t know what they’re doing,” he says, chuckling. “But they get the idea with a little help.”
It didn’t take long for Liu’s neighbors to catch on and build their own nongjiale–literally, “farmhouse fun.” Of Duijiuyu’s 137 households, 60 are currently registered to take guests. Down the road in Mayufang village, 58 of 60 households double as guesthouses. Nearby is further evidence of how local Chinese are capitalizing on the road boom: Wild Suburbs Park, an 8-kilometer-long trail winding between sheer cliffs and a stream. With entrance fees of $3 a head, Liu thinks it’s won’t be long before the village recoups its investment.
At Folkways, Liu’s investment has already paid off handsomely. He gets lots of return customers, as well as first-time guests, many of them new car owners itching to get out of town. That’s what brought Tang Jing and his girlfriend, Dou Dan, to Folkways. After parking their Toyota under a giant tree, they debate their next step. Tang suggests buying fireworks and ordering a roasted goat for dinner. Dou stretches. “Life is good,” she says. “Here we can do anything we want.” And if they run out of options, they can always hit the road.
