Island of charm and challenge

In addition to the design work, he has to meet officials from Yushan town, communicate with homeowners to understand their needs, coordinate with building material suppliers and liaise with construction teams.

Using architecture to aid rural vitalization is not something new to Ma. In 2021, while studying at Tianjin University, he and two schoolmates won first prize in the UIAHYP Cup 2021 International Student Competition in Architectural Design, sponsored by the International Union of Architects and organized by the university and Urban Environment Design magazine. Their winning project integrated nature education with architecture, to boost rural development.

Living on the remote island has given him new insights into the use of architecture for rural vitalization.

Huang Haote, 27, is another participant in the reality show. He studied logistics management as an undergraduate at Tongji University and later obtained a master's degree in supply chain management from Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands. After returning to China, he worked for Apple China in Shanghai. As a fan of Steve Jobs, working for the company was his dream job. However, he gradually realized that he was not fulfilled in his role.

"In university, I learned to manage the entire process from planning to production, operations, procurement and logistics. But because Apple is so large, I was only responsible for production scheduling. I couldn't see the bigger picture. I wasn't as happy as I thought I would be," he says.