We choose such an idyllic lifestyle to be close to nature
It doesn’t mean we don’t need to work anymore or we want to be negative hermits
We just want to find inner peace
In April, 2016
We moved to the small village in Changping District
This yard was dilapidated
And the owner said he wanted to renovate it
The renovation fee could be part of the rent
The renovation costs 1.5 million yuan
A friend of mine taught designing
We told her our demands
And she designed this “square-outside-and-round-inside” building
The project took a whole year to complete
The construction area is as big as over 300 m2 and the house has two storeys
There’re 14 rooms
Our family members include I, my wife
Our three children and my mother-in-law
One of our demands is that each family member has his or her own space
And there’s space for the children to play
My mother-in-law likes growing vegetables
So we need a vegetable garden
As you enter in through the gate
You can see a row of bamboos, which acts as a screen
There’s a ginkgo tree in the yard
And a lawn as well
There’s a spiral stair
Leading to the rooftop vegetable garden
The earth on the rooftop is as thick as 40cm for growing vegetables
And the yield can basically meet our demand all year around except for winter
In winter we have turnip, Chinese cabbage and pumpkin and we can store them
We compost kitchen waste and apply it as fertilizer
We all make them by ourselves
The climbing wall is for the children
After you enter in, there’s an entrance hall
A room with tatami for children to play
A fireplace beside the dining room
A small kitchen and a tea room
They are all independent
The spiral staircase is encircled
By wire ropes down from the rooftop
So the stair is well-lighted and people are protected while walking on it
There’s a meditation room beside the master bedroom
And a children’s room outside
The moon door connects the rooms
And we can also see the children
All the windows facing the yard are made of glass
They can introduce the nature into the indoor
And the sun shines through the glass and moves around the house
Through the glass
The children can see us at any angle
We can do our own things and communicate smoothly at the same time
I was a senior manager in a foreign company for 17 years
My salary was high
I resigned because we have three kids
Who are 10, 7 and 4
Company matters
We moved several times
We lived near the Chaoyang Park
Then we moved to Shunyi
And then we moved to Changping, outside the Sixth Ring road
Further and further from the downtown
We longed for nature inside
We sold the house in the downtown
And started our own business here
We don’t buy luxury brands
And we don’t buy toys for the children
We DIY as much as possible
We can save a big sum of money in terms of household expenses
A natural living environment is the best education
We can offer our children