The ‘new farmer’: China’s rural influencers are romanticizing country life on social media

In the quiet backwaters of Yunnan, Dong Meihua—though her followers know her by the public alias Dianxi Xiaoge—has done something remarkable: She’s taken the pastoral simplicity of rural China and made it irresistible to millions. In her hands, a village kitchen becomes a stage, and the rhythms of farm life become a story as compelling as any novel. She is one of many rural influencers returning to their roots. In a digital revolution turning established narratives on their head,...