Chinese city dwellers find simpler life in countryside
AnotherCommunity
Tang Guanhua uses his laptop as he takes part in an online meeting inside a building which he and Xing Zhen built, at the AnotherCommunity in Guanzhong village, Fuzhou, Fujian province, China, November 3, 2019.
Tang Guanhua, 30, and his wife, Xing Zhen, 35, in late 2015 set up AnotherCommunity. It is an hour's drive outside of Fuzhou city in Fujian province, at a village called Guanzhong.
Trans haven
Liu Peilin, 63, sits by her desk in her bedroom at the AnotherCommunity in Guanzhong village, Fuzhou, Fujian province, China, October 31, 2019.
The community also serves as a safe space for 63-year-old transgender woman Liu Peilin, who has known Tang for several years.
Guazhong village
Liu Peilin chats with a villager outside her house in Guanzhong village, Fuzhou, Fujian province, China, November 3, 2019.
China's teeming megacities have drawn hundreds of millions of people from rural villages and small towns in search of jobs and wealth, but people like Tang and Liu are part of an emerging trend in the opposite direction.
New life
Yang Junhao plays a harmonica during a AnotherCommunity dinner party on a hill in Guanzhong village, Fuzhou, Fujian province, China, October 31, 2019.
Yang quit his job in a big Chinese city nine months ago and moved to a small community that preaches sustainable living and mindful consumption.
Reverse migration
Yang Junhao pulls a bamboo stem down after chopping it off with a sickle, on a hill at the AnotherCommunity in Guanzhong village, Fuzhou, Fujian province, China, October 31, 2019.
China's teeming megacities have drawn hundreds of millions of people from rural villages and small towns in search of jobs and wealth, but people like Yang are part of an emerging trend in the opposite direction.
Fast life
Da Wang mounts freshly chopped bamboo to make a rack at his farm, at Another Community in Guanzhong village, Fuzhou, Fujian province, China, November 4, 2019.
A recent poll of people aged 18-35 by a state think-tank found 52 percent of those living in smaller towns and cities had moved there after spending on average three years in top-tier cities, citing the fast pace of life.
Open community
Chen Yan looks up as she paints on a hill during sunset at AnotherCommunity in Guanzhong village, Fuzhou, Fujian province, China, November 3, 2019.
It is now opening to the public for a four-month trial. Since mid-October, over 20 potential residents - from former computer programmers to online English teachers and freelance videographers - have signed up to join the community.
Freelance videographer Chen Yan said she originally planned to stay only a week when she came in October, but ended up staying a month.
Relentless oppression
Xing Zhen walks at AnotherCommunity in Guanzhong village, Fuzhou, Fujian province, China, November 1, 2019.
In 2018, the community had to destroy much of what they had built due to pressure from the local government, though in recent months they have been left alone.
The regional government, irked by what they saw as an incursion, tore down the illegal structures.
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