Culture

Commuter creates a utopia at the edge of the city

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-06-23 08:13

Fan Ting and her dog, Lehman, relax in the country. PENG XIAOLING / FOR CHINA DAILY

It's 6:30 am in a village near the Sixth Ring Road in north Beijing. Fan Ting rushes to a bus stop near the village entrance.

Her fair skin and suit distinguish her from the local farmers passing by.

After a 30-minute bus trip and 11-stop subway ride, the 27-year-old office lady will arrive at her workplace in central Beijing.

Fan enjoys her forth and back daily routine and has signed a five-year rental agreement with the landlord of her 1,300-sq-m property.

"I'm seeking a balance between city life and rural life," said Fan.

Fan and her boyfriend, Ma, two former typical urban dwellers, used to rent a 30 sq m apartment near the Xizhimen subway station.

But when they adopted a stray dog, Lehman - naming after the notorious bankruptcy financial services firm Lehman Brothers Inc - their living space started to feel smaller and smaller, as the puppy grew to be more than meter long and 35 kilograms.

"Keeping such a big dog was forbidden within the Fifth Ring Road. We had no choice but walked him secretly after 11 pm," Ma said.

Driven by a growing desire to escape the city, Fan and Ma decided to find a spacious place in the country for Lehman and themselves. They finally opted for the mini town near the Sixth Ring.

Hoping to find netizens who shared the same values and would like to create a community with them, Fan set up a group named "Let's build a town by ourselves" on douban.com, a Chinese social networking website, on July 6, 2009.

"Life is irreversible, and I don't want to waste it...Instead of man-eating property prices, I prefer fresh air, blue sky and a big yard..."Fan wrote. Promoting her idea under the acronym LOCAN, which stands for Lifestyle of City and Nature.

Fan described "LOCAN" as a balance between city life and natural life, which advocates green, free and artistic.

Netizens' enthusiasm for the project was far beyond Fan's expectation. Hundreds of responses were posted offering suggestions and good wishes.

In October, Fan and other Web users began to look for properties where they could create their community.

The 27-year-old and her boyfriend finally chose a 1,300-sq-m property, which rented for less than 3,000 yuan, but which was 18 km from the nearest subway stop.

She has no regrets and said she enjoys fresher and cheaper food bought from the farmers' market and can savor drinking coffee and reading books in her spacious yard.

She even praises the treadle sewing machine she bought for 120 yuan from the second-hand market: "It can be used not only as a sewing machine, but also a leg exerciser and a writing desk."

She also updates all the details of rural life on her blog.

"By sharing my experience, I aim to emphasize that it's not just 'me', it's 'us' who are realizing the rural town dream," said Fan.

Ma is outside splitting firewood for a barbecue party. Sunlight filters into the living room, where Fan is playing with the dog.

The couple haven't done it up yet, but it is full of their favorite: novels, guitar, astronomical telescope.

A Lehman paw print on one of the white walls has been modified into a flower-shaped pattern by Fan, surrounding with a few green leaves drawn by colored pencils.

"Daily necessities such as a water heater and pump never crossed my mind when I lived in the city," Ma said, who found life was so real and detailed after living in the village.

Although they have experienced some undesirable things, for example, "being ripped off by a familiar taxi driver", Fan still insisted that rural life was much better than city life.

"It's true that I had to give up some conveniences, but isn't it cooler to run on a country road with flowers and fresh air than go to a gym?" she said.