A decision Zheng Yaming made three years ago to forsake city life to run a rural homestay helped him find his true calling.

Zheng, who is in his 30s and comes from a village in Jinzhai county, Anhui province, worked in hotels in Shanghai for nine years from 2012.

"I was away from my family a lot and only got to see them once every month most of the time," he said.

He continued with this work, but when his second child was born in 2021, he felt the need to be closer to his family.

"The birth made me aware that I needed to spend more time with my family and find some meaning to my life," Zheng said, adding that all he did in his spare time in Shanghai was go to a bar and chat with his friends about how to make money.

At the end of 2021, Zheng quit his city job after being offered the manager's post at a rural homestay that was about to open in the mountains of Jinzhai.

"The business was expected to be a model for homestay development in the area, and the local government was supporting it," he said.

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