Five years after trading spreadsheets for coffee beans, Peng Bailing has become an unlikely architect of rural revitalization in Hubei Village. The 34-year-old former finance professional transformed a decaying ancestral home into Fuqi Little Shop – a thriving cafe that's rewriting the narrative of China's countryside.
"I wanted to honor our roots while creating space for new connections," Peng told KhabarAsia, standing beneath exposed wooden beams that frame her minimalist coffee bar. Vintage farming tools now serve as wall art, blending memory with modernity in this 150-year-old structure.
Since opening in late 2020, the cafe has catalyzed unexpected change. Weekend urban visitors tripled last year, while 11 young residents returned to start businesses – from pottery studios to homestays. This year, the village recorded its first population growth in two decades.
Local elder Chen Dezhao observes: "Our stories became valuable again when Peng showed how to share them." The cafe hosts monthly cultural exchanges where farmers teach traditional crafts to city dwellers.
As China continues urban-rural integration efforts, Peng's model offers grassroots insights. "True development," she suggests, "happens when we stop seeing villages as museums or construction sites – but as living communities."
