Tang admires the products with traditional Chinese characteristics at a shop in Xinguang village, Pujiang county. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

China's rural areas are becoming more popular among self-employed people fond of running small businesses in unspoiled natural landscapes and cultural architectures.

A Russian woman, whose Chinese name is Tang Xilan, is one of them and has chosen Xinguang village in Pujiang county, Zhejiang province, to start her business.

Tang is currently a postgraduate art student at Zhejiang Sci-Tech University. Her relationship with Pujiang began two years ago when she met a young man called Chen Qingsong at a conference.

Chen and a group of over 60 young people run art and creative businesses featuring bark paintings, reading, folk music and floriculture in Xinguang village. In 2018, more than 1 million people visited the village.

Tang witnessed the changes in the ancient village with the rise of these businesses via Chen's social media.

She was deeply impressed by the passion of these young men and the development mode of the small village. She came to Xinguang village in April and joined the group.

"I was thinking about ways to better understand China at that time and I thought going to Chinese villages would help," said Tang.

The reason she chose Pujiang was that there are many poets in the county. Tang said she was interested in writing poems and the old traditions of writing poems and drawing paintings were protected well there.

Tang's participation also inspired the young people of the village, which in Chen's eyes was a demonstration that rural areas can be vigorous and international as well.

Tang is now planning a gathering for poetry lovers from around the province. She is also considering setting up a shop featuring Russian culture and products to add exotic hues to the tourism in Xinguang village.