Homing in on a new life

Dilemma, decision

In 2008, Lei Ming's mother wanted the old house in their hometown to be taken down and rebuilt in somewhat of a European style. The son says he instead decided to repair the house for his parents to live out their retirement after they wanted to move from Beijing.

At first, he had a rough plan — he constructed a building, two pavilions and a bridge in the first year, but in the next year, he had more ideas. He had no notion then that it would be such a massive project, or a "sweet burden", for the whole family.

By 2019, the courtyard had developed to its current scale, and in 2021, four small bridges were built near the courtyard, to make the surroundings "more harmonious".

Lei Ming temporarily suspended the expansion of the complex due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He had hired about 40 craftspeople earlier for the repairs but kept only a few later.

"I want to share the beauty with others, display my precious collection, and maintain the courtyard well. But it's strenuous work, and my family members try their best to help," he says.

There is a division of labor for all the adults in the Lei family. The elderly are in charge of planting vegetables, raising livestock and cooking, while the Lei brothers and Qin are responsible for all other important issues of the complex. Currently, they organize cultural events for companies and receive individual guests, to cover the water and electricity costs and salaries of the craftspeople working there.

"We want to concentrate our energy on improving the courtyard itself. We don't do much publicity but gain visitors by word-of-mouth, especially among those interested in traditional culture," Lei Ming says.

Art institutions sent students to draw in the courtyard and visitors from neighboring regions drive for several hours to view the complex, sample the food made by the Lei brothers' parents and uncle, and stay overnight.

The story of the Lei brothers, and Qin, is a bit unusual for urban dwellers — three well-educated people quit their careers in a big city in their 30s to devote time to a family courtyard in a small county and lead an idyllic life. Unlike small families in big cities, the Lei family's lifestyle was not uncommon in rural areas of the country earlier. The family put all its savings into the courtyard and is about 5 million yuan in debt, of which 2 million is a low-interest loan from the local government.

Qin, who's in charge of the courtyard's operation, recalls that soon after she sold her apartment in Beijing in 2016, its market price increased by about 2 million yuan. Qin says she comforts herself thinking that the value they've created in the courtyard is more. While she was in Beijing, Qin often spoke with people in the art world and got interested in the family's antiques. Nonetheless, it took her a long time to make the decision to return and adapt to the new environment in Ganxitan.

"I have to tackle some issues caused mainly by the urban-rural disparity. For example, our avant-garde ideas are different from others, and my eldest daughter, who returned here at the age of 6, was unaccustomed to some things in school at first," she says.

"We want to turn the courtyard into an energetic place, displaying the folk culture of the farming community," Qin says, adding that many people have encouraged them to continue the work, and she hopes to win more support from the government to improve the surrounding infrastructure, such as a parking lot.