Slice of rural life

Workshops were open for both local children and visiting families to take part in outdoor activities such as painting, rural concerts, and children's drama.

They also learned basic business management skills from making and selling strings of candied haws in the village.

Though from different backgrounds and cities, including Shanghai, Beijing and Xi'an in Shaanxi province, the children established a community without much presence of their parents, Wu said.

The children didn't know each other before checking into the homestay. Some were studying in international schools, some in urban public schools, and some in the village. But they took care of each other and communicated in their own way through hours of activities.

"No background differences or comparisons of family condition were found in this 'equal' community," Wu said.

Children from visiting families appeared to be creative and had an artistic expression when preparing for a children's play.

"But the rural children also showed self-confidence when working with their urban peers," he added.

Changes were taking place for both urban and rural families during the project. Wu said rural children were more influenced by their parents.

"When they painted a fox, they were more likely to imitate the picture provided by their parents rather than explore by themselves," he said.

The project may inspire local parents to care more about their children and encourage them to think creatively, he added.

Finding themselves in nature, urban children ate and lived with each other, and learned how daily life operated, such as who cooked for them, where to find food materials, and how to earn money.

Wu said urban children cannot see the complicated system stashed in their lives because studying is their priority. In the countryside, everyone is thinking of how to finish the housework and make contributions to the village.