The heartbeat of home

Liang Hong, an acclaimed writer and literature professor at Renmin University of China, felt a quiet thrill at returning to her hometown, fictionalized as Liangzhuang village, in Dengzhou, Henan province.

She shared her anticipation on WeChat Moments, attaching an article about her discussion with economist Liu Shouying on Liangzhuang's development, and rural China. The post marked the 15th anniversary of her first nonfiction work, China in Liangzhuang.

From 2010 to 2021, Liang published the Liangzhuang Trilogy: China in Liangzhuang, Exodus from Liangzhuang, and Liangzhuang Ten Years. The village in her works, set in Wuzhen town, Rangxian county, is a fictional version of her native village in Dengzhou, Nanyang, Henan province.

The trilogy captures the shifting lives of leftbehind communities, follows migrant workers' struggles in cities, and reflects on rural China over a decade. Widely read, it has become a key reference in studies of the countryside.

Liang has also written novels inspired by Liangzhuang — The Light of Liang Guangzheng, The Sacred Clan, and Four Images.

China in Liangzhuang has been translated into multiple languages, and the English edition of The Sacred Clan won the Arts Council England 2021 PEN Translates Award. Liang has said she hopes to document Liangzhuang over 20 to 30 years.

In September 2025, her new nonfiction work Let There Be Light was published, which explores the mental health of urban and rural minors, extending her concerns for individuals and education in the Liangzhuang Trilogy.