Nostalgic feelings for rural life not only drives many to visit remote villages but also increases the number of rural heritage museums surfacing across the country, particularly in areas experiencing rapid urbanization.
These museums are either built by local governments or initiated by farmers themselves, in an effort to preserve a vanishing rural and agricultural culture amid sweeping urbanization. Nanmofang's rural heritage culture museum in Beijing is one example.
Gao Chao, a manager of the museum, said the aim of the museum is to give local residents a place to reflect on the past.
Nostalgic return
At first sight, Zinanjiayuan community, where the museum is located in southeastern Beijing, is no different from other communities in the downtown area.
But 12 years ago, it was predominantly a village of one-story homes and farming lands, which vanished when the area was urbanized.
To preserve old memories for locals, the township government constructed the museum in 2009 and opened its doors in 2010.
The museum contains an exhibition hall of farming culture and restored houses of farmers dating from the 1960s to 1990s. The exhibition hall features traditional farm tools, such as shovels, picks and daily appliances.
Miniature models show farming life, including harvesting, digging rivers and the smelting process. Miniature models of the village before 1949 have names of residents tagged in each house.
"Residents and their children can come and look at old dwellings," said Li Jinan, a tour guide at the museum.
The model houses are courtyards decorated with old-fashioned furniture. There are hearths connected to the heated brick beds (kang) in the bedroom, used not only to cook but also to warm beds in the winter.
Li told the Global Times that the layout is typical for farmers' houses in the 1960s.
Local residents can visit after making an appointment. Visitors are impressed by the exhibition that brings nostalgic feelings.
There are four other rural museums in Chaoyang district, an area facing rapid urbanization and gentrification in Beijing, including one in Gaojing village. It consists of a restored house and extinct items including old farm tools, cooking means, kerosene lamps, pots and jars.
Chen Bali is in charge of the cultural relics management in Chaoyang district. Chen said in an interview that rapid urbanization demolishes farmhouses, and many farmers eventually become city inhabitants.
"Keeping a city's rural memory is a way to guarantee our souls have a home to return."
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