Lights, camera, tractors!

Storytellers

Changshanzhuang is the home of the Red Sisters, a group of local women who took care of the wounded soldiers and in some cases sacrificed their lives to protect them during the wars. They forged a major part of the Yimeng Spirit.

To honor their stories and promote the Yimeng Spirit, a Red Sisters Hometown Tourism Area has been established in the village.

Short folk performances are staged in old courtyards, bringing these stories to life, and the performers are villagers who have lived in the area their entire lives.

Yang Suhua, 63, from a neighboring village, used to spend her days doing housework and tending a small vegetable plot.

Two years ago, she became one of the most popular performers. Now she plays the role of an elderly cotton weaver in a show about the women's rescue association, a grassroots organization that supported the Communist revolution in the 1940s.

"I grew up hearing the heroic stories of the local women. I am so happy to tell their stories to more people through these small-scale plays," Yang said.

Villagers transform oral histories passed down from their ancestors into scripts, using relatable language and gestures that ordinary people can understand.

Li Xipeng, head of the Red Sisters Hometown Tourism Area, said the village's authenticity is key to the performances' appeal. "These houses and these lanes witnessed the actual events. They are the best textbook we could ever have," he said.

More than a dozen small farmyards have been turned into performance spaces. In one courtyard stands a small stone house with two dark narrow rooms. This is where Liu Naixiu, 73, once lived with her family of five.

"We were all squeezed in here. The house has barely changed from what it was back then. Now we've moved to a two-story home just 1 kilometer from this village," she said.

The places that best preserve the original feel of the period have also been used as film sets. Since 2007, over 500 film and television productions have been shot here, including Six Sisters in the War, Red Sorghum and This Thriving Land.

Liu was among the first villagers to join the film productions. "I've lost count of how many shows I've been in. Sometimes a crew member calls me directly and tells me that he needs 20 people for extras. I happily run from house to house, rounding up neighbors," she said.

Over the years, more than 30,000 villagers have performed as extras in film and television productions in the area. For many families, this part-time work has become a supplement to their farming income.

The rural cultural boom has brought economic ripple effects. More than 100 businesses have emerged around the scenic area, offering catering, farm stays, produce sales, and handcrafts.

"We used to worry about how to sell our produce," said a local farmer who grows vegetables and fruits on the hillside. "Now tourists come to us. They watch the shows, walk through the village, and buy local farm produce," he said.

The scenic area has partnered with villages around the area, integrating rural vitalization and tourism development. To date, more than 600 people from surrounding villages have worked in the scenic area.

"This is what it looks like when culture grows from the soil, not as something delivered from above, but as something that sprouts from the land itself," Li said.