It is a rare group
We’re like sisters and brothers
We moved into the mountain successively
And now we live together
We drink tea outdoors
We collect wild fruits and climb tree
We’re really happy
My name is Lei Yu and I’m 31 years old
I now live in Huanxi Town on Beifeng Mountain, Fuzhou, Fujian
After I graduated from college
I went to the mountain with my tutor Mr. Tang Mingxiu
Then I had my own studio nearby
It’s in an old house built at the end of Qing Dynasty
I pay the rent through renovating the house
The patio has a really nice layout
As you enter through the gate, you can see a small garden
We often hang out in the mountain by motorcycle
When we see suitable plants, we dig them out and bring them back
The space used to be L-shaped
We pushed a wall outward
And we added a huge French window
When we renovated the tearoom
We discovered a beautiful stone wall behind the wood
We kept it
We made a window in the attic
In the morning, the sun gets in through the gaps between planks
And touches my bed
Now there’re around eight to nine young people
Who have their own studios in the mountain
Wenwen graduated from Prints Department
And then worked as a designer in Beijing
At the end of 2020
She decided she should do something she liked when she was still young
Now we share the same yard
In big cities, you’re pushed to move forward
There’re a lot of pressure caused by living cost on your shoulders
Early this year
I resigned and visited the mountain
There were only the nature and myself
I had less and less demand for materials
So I decided to stay here
To create and live
I came here with only one suitcase
A small suitcase
And I spent spring, summer and autumn here
In metropolitans like Beijing
People still feel lonely
In the mountain we live close to each other
He Xie and Jianbing
Her father was one of the first generation living in the mountain
So they moved here after their graduation from college
I’m 32 years old
My father-in-law built the house in 1992
He was probably the first one to live in the valley
I had never thought about such a life
After we got married
We spent a year in Hangzhou
Then we decided to come back
Our house has no gate
We’re unprotected from the surrounding nature
The two trees were planted by my father-in-law 20 years ago
We built the house around the tree
We should get along with the mountain in a harmonious way
You can ask for what is abundant from it
And add to what is insufficient
Like building a channel and plant some trees
We have met snakes and wild boars
Each creature has its own position
You may find that my son is really different from other kids
We’ve been living in the mountain
He often falls
We often take him to hang out in the wild
There’re some wild chestnuts and fruits in season
He takes our hands eagerly
To go into the forest
I wish him good health and that he grows up happily in the mountain
As for grades
Life is long
Whether he will be successful in the future is not decided
By his academic performance in his primary school or middle school
You need to make him be curious about the world
And you need to make him know what he wants to do
Jiakai does pottery
We had a connection when we first met
Through Mr. Lv De’an
We found a studio in the mountain
We rented it in 2018 and renovated it
We live so closely
We have meals together
His mother is a great cook
After meals, we do pottery
Or drink tea
Time passes by quickly
We have learned how to grow vegetables
Some do pottery and some do metalwork
We make whatever we need, such as cups and bowls
Our living expense is low
It’s really cold in winter here
We cherish sun
We go wherever the sun goes
We play basketball together in evenings
The sun goes down at around 4:00 p.m.
We drink tea and bake food around fire together
You need some time to reach the balance
As an individual and a member of the group
Slowly we form a tacit understanding
When we need to communicate
We would gather to relax
When we have to create independently
We return to the identity as an individual
We’re really sincere to each other