Speaking of the villages around such a megacity like Shanghai
They provide an important escape
For urban residents
Cenbu Village is built along the river
It’s surrounded by forest on three sides
And it’s fronted by a lake on one side
There’re less than 400 houses
If there’re only one or two households of new villagers
They might feel lonely
But when there’re twenty or even thirty
They feel nice
I was an office worker in Shanghai
I helped my friend to move to this village
It’s a state-level village with great ecology and cultures
In 2011
You could barely see young people here
Just some senior villagers
I stood on the bridge
And saw hundreds of glowworms flying over the reed
At the same night
I met Mom Frog and Daddy Frog
He turned this deserted house
Into an idyllic cottage
Then I asked them to find a house here for me
We were the first family who really moved in and lived in this village
I applied the concept of ecological corner in my yard
I have dug a well as deep as three meters
When water circulates
Aquatic plants spread all around
I have also planted some honey plants
Which allows me to record nearly 20 butterfly species in my yard
Frog is an index for environment
When it rains in summer
You can hear frogs croaking everywhere in our yard
When we first came here, the old villagers were so reserved
My wife greeted them warmly
As she met them
Along the way
So we gradually develop a rapport with them
When the new villagers first came
They loved the environment here
They all love nature
Like Zhang Yang. He’s like an old friend
My father-in-law is a patient with Alzheimer’s
There’re a large number of cars in the city
All the external stimulation forms great fear
He didn’t dare to go out of the apartment building
However, the village is peaceful and tranquil
No fear in his heart stops him from going out
And his body declines in a slower pace
My company is in Hangzhou
When I’m not busy, I work for 3 days and have 4 days off a week
I can take my daughter to natural adventures
She’s now three years old
She has seen a gecko catching insects
She knows how different frogs look like and she likes catching fishes
I think such experiences contribute a lot to a kid’s growth
The precondition of education is growing up happily
I moved into Cenbu Village in the spring of 2011
I spent my childhood near the Huangpu River
I majored in Ecology for my master’s degree
Lots of people doubt the production of organic agriculture
Through my practices over the past decade
I think its production can reach a positive level
A balanced state
I have planted rows of plant fences
Around my fields
To allow some predator beneficial insects
To move quickly from this side to that side
Vespa velutina feeds on cabbage caterpillars
I’ve also designed gutters for Jiaobai, an aquatic plant
In a field for dry crops
I’ve also made a passage for frogs, shrimps, fishes and dragonflies
To inhibit pests
The fertilizer in the fields will flow into the gutters
Instead of polluting the water
In nature
When I lived in the city
I often worked overtime and stayed up
Which damaged my health
Then I got healed by the life in the village
After all
I was attracted by the local environment
In fact
Boating has become part of our life
All the waterways here are connected to each other
For example, we can go to Zhujiajiao by boat
Or the Jinze Old Town
Or even as far as Suzhou
I have been living here for 12 years
Gradually the time that we see muddy water becomes longer and longer
Until this year’s lockdown in Shanghai
For those two or three months
The water became clear
All of a sudden
So my awareness for environmental protection became so strong right away
We rowed a boat to pick up rubbish on water
What we feel is that
A really good environment can be healing
The community of Cenbu Village is composed of painters
Musicians and teachers
We share lots of common topics
We often have meals together at home
We take turn to hold parties
All the vegetables are produced in neighboring areas
Generally
We don’t use fertilizers or pesticides in our fields
When you part the weeds, you’ll find the Chinese chives grow well
We make dumpling with them
Once there were 40 people having a meal together
In our backyard
We got along well without barriers
Really happy
Recently I hear half of the village will be renovated
Urban plants will be planted
And urban walls will be built
Glowworms will disappear
Egrets will leave too
There’re very a few villages with such wild environment
Around Shanghai
We now own such a nice place
It’s given by nature