Village full of delightful surprises

Even though the village has modern facilities, the locals retain their simple yet cozy countryside lifestyle, Saminirina said.

The way the locals raise their free-range chickens and keep warm by the fire reminded her of her childhood, "a life that cannot be enjoyed by urban dwellers".

The locals, young and old alike, also impressed the visitors with their hospitality and down-to-earth character.

They were extremely welcoming, Slater Rhea said.

"In some sense I feel like I've come home, since everyone treats me so warmly."

Even the village children were full of surprises.

"It amazed me when some of the children there started to speak to us in English, because I thought they wouldn't have particularly good educational resources," Mohamed Jihad said.

On hearing stories of young people who work in the village, he was greatly impressed by that of Liu Su, someone who studied overseas and "chose to come to Shibadong village in order to make contributions to the country. I'm really moved by his choice."

In the village square the visitors took part in an internet live streaming performance by one of the locals, Shi Zhichun, who was selling local products.

Rhea said: "Because of the targeted poverty alleviation policy, they have the chance to develop their local trades and sell their local crops and connect to the outside world, bringing money and development here and sharing with the rest of us their outstanding local products.

"I think it's a wonderful success story, and I feel very happy for these people. I hope their situation and the conditions here will continue to get better and better."