Haotang Village Renovation

A project named Tea House in Hao Tang Village was launched
in Hao Tang village, Wulidian Branch Office, Pingqiao District,
Xinyang, Henan Province. Many aspects were involved in the project,
including eco-system, rural planning, folk culture, village governance,
architecture, health and well-being, organic farming, financial support
and so on. No complete tear-downs or large scale constructions have
been initiated, instead, preservation and protection of the original
old buildings were the key focus, and efforts were made to educate
and inspire local villagers and officials to recognize the values and
appreciate the beautifulness in the old buildings.
The concept behind the project is to "build the countryside as
countryside should be". Farmers became the major players, and Hao
Tang village has grown to a new type of rural community with long
time farming traditions being kept intact. Insects are coming back,
birds are following suit, ponds have clear water again, and over 30
young villagers quit their jobs in big cities and started new businesses
here. But what is more important, is that they live together, again, with
their parents, spouses, and children.
On April 1, 2013, People's Daily started a new column named Beautiful
China - Those Beautiful Villages, focusing on the natural beauty and
harmonious beauty found in the ecological civilization constructions
in China. The first report in this column was titled Hao Tang - A Small
Village You Could only Find in Paintings. On August 2, 2015, China
Central Television News Report described Hao Tang as "a beautiful
village with its original characteristics being kept via a smart plan of
leveraging the surrounding landscapes and natural conditions." On
December 25, 2015, People's Daily made a full-page report about
the current status of Hao Tang village. In this report titled "Hao Tang,
where our nostalgia goes", the newspaper even said that "for the
development of the previous 30 years, we only need to look at Xiao
Gang village; for the development of the next 30 years, we should look
at Hao Tang village."