Town Voyage: Where northern China’s countryside discovers brand-new rhythms

ZHANGJIAKOU, HEBEI– Media OutReach Newswire — 13 September 2026– In the 3rd season of Town VoyageCGTN host Julian Waghann from the United States and Mexican tourist Juan Carlos Cheang Guzmán journey throughout Zhangjiakou, a city in Hebei Province some 200 kilometers northwest of Beijing, to check out how its land and individuals are developing brand-new possibilities for rural life. Understood for its mountains, wide-open highlands and lively outside culture, enhanced by the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Zhangjiakou has actually become an unique location in northern China.

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This newest season takes audiences beyond the city’s popular landmarks and into the countryside, where global tourists get their hands in the soil, discover standard crafts and share daily meals with regional citizens. Through these experiences, they find a various side of rural China and individuals who are assisting form its future.

Mountain pulse: A year-round outside play ground

The mountains of Chongli in Zhangjiakou are more than the background for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. When best understood for their snow-covered slopes, they are progressively ending up being a year-round location for outside activities.

“Winter season is for snowboarding, however summertime opens an entire brand-new world,” stated a regional outside guide.

Given That the Winter Olympics, homeowners have actually been gradually opening the hills’ year-round capacity: from mountain cycling and path going to treking and outdoor camping. The mountains no longer fall inactive when the snow melts.

Julian and Juan pedal along forest routes, surrounded by mountain air and the fragrance of moist earth. At the Chongli 168 Ultra-Trail Race, they stand at the beginning line as countless runners rise forward– a river of energy that sweeps up everybody seeing.

For Juan, the scene strikes a familiar chord. “Mountains do not have borders,” he stated. “The desire to run and challenge yourself in the wild is something we share, whether in Latin America or here.”

Field-rooted wellness: Yoga that grew from the soil

Surrounded by farmland and an open sky, Yugouliang Village rests on a high plateau in northern Zhangjiakou. The town has actually gotten attention for a distinct type of outside yoga practiced amongst its fields. Unlike the health patterns typically related to city fitness centers and resorts, yoga here has actually grown naturally out of town life.

“Our yoga originates from farm work,” one villager described. “It becomes part of how we live.” In between planting and collecting, they extend and breathe, discovering stillness in the middle of open fields.

Julian and Juan initially experienced another part of town life by making youmiana regional staple made from oats. They kneaded the dough and formed it by hand, then headed into the fields, where they spread their mats on the earth and practiced yoga along with regional homeowners.

“This feels familiar,” Juan showed. “No matter where we are, individuals desire the very same things– health, peace, security and a life that feels complete.”

Yugouliang provides a various image of rural China: not a location frozen in the past, however a neighborhood that has actually discovered its own rhythm and a brand-new sense of wellness in the middle of the fields.

Living heritage stays part of life

Found in the southern part of Zhangjiakou, Yuxian is understood for its historical settlements, standard architecture and folk arts. Its ancient structures have actually likewise reached brand-new audiences through pop culture. A few of its architecture has actually influenced places in Black Myth: Wukongthe hit Chinese action role-playing video game.

Yuxian paper-cutting is among its best-known folk customs. “Paper-cutting originated from daily individuals,” stated a master of the craft. “It utilized to embellish farmhouse windows. Now it reaches the broader world.”

With that spirit in mind, Julian and Juan attempted their hand at paper-cutting, fumbling with scissors to produce something far from best– however they feel, quickly, what it implies to make art out of normal life. Here, heritage isn’t sealed behind glass. It’s passed from hand to hand, cut into paper and woven into the material of day-to-day presence.

Where tidy energy fulfills contemporary farming

If Yuxian’s ancient towns maintain the memories of the past, Desheng Village demonstrates how rural neighborhoods are looking towards the future. Found in the highland farming area of northern Zhangjiakou, Desheng has actually accepted contemporary farming and solar energy as part of its rural advancement.

Rows of photovoltaic panels extend throughout the land, catching sunshine that when just fed crops. Below them, modern-day greenhouses hum with temperature-controlled accuracy. It’s farming reimagined– and the advantages are concrete.

“We utilized to depend greatly on the weather condition,” one villager stated “Now innovation and sunshine provide us brand-new hope.”

Julian and Juan entered the greenhouses, selecting ripe tomatoes and crisp cucumbers, tasting the sweet taste of a harvest that no longer depends upon luck. They saw how tidy energy income recedes into the neighborhood– financing schools, roadways and public areas.

As night fell, they signed up with a bonfire event in the town square. Music, laughter and discussion filled the night air. Around the fire, the visitors saw another side of rural advancement: a town altering with the times while preserving the close-knit neighborhood spirit that has actually long specified regional life.

More than a journey: Stories formed by the land

For a brand-new generation of tourists, immersive experiences are using a more total image of rural China. In Zhangjiakou, the countryside is not specified by a single landscape or a single lifestyle. Chongli’s mountains pulse with year-round energy; Yugouliang’s fields use a slower rhythm of life; Yuxian’s ancient towns keep standard architecture and folk crafts alive; and Desheng demonstrates how tidy energy and modern-day farming can develop brand-new chances for rural neighborhoods.

Here, custom and development exist side-by-side in the exact same towns, where ancient abilities can discover brand-new audiences and modern-day innovation can settle in centuries-old neighborhoods.

Every town has its own story. From mountain tracks and open farmland to historical towns and modern-day greenhouses, Zhangjiakou exposes a northern Chinese countryside that is more varied, vibrant and loaded with possibility than any single image can catch.

Visitors might come for the surroundings. By stepping into town life, they leave with something more long lasting: a closer understanding of the individuals who live on this land, the customs they bring forward and the future they are developing together.

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