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This is Roundtable. Hello, welcome to Roundtable, where we serve up piping hot debates on the issues that Sizzling China and Beyond, and your only.
Work online, travel the world, and love the dream.
Sounds too good to be true?
Well, it is the life stories of the digital nomads.
As more people embrace remote work, rural areas in China are seen a resurgence in economic and cultural vibrancy.
What are some news stories that they are writing in the rural areas?
For today's show, I'm joined by Li Yi and Ding Heng.
Now grab your virtual compass and follow us to the heart of the discussion.
Digital nomads, individuals who leverage technology to work remotely while traveling are increasingly seen as a catalyst for rural revitalization.
By bringing their skills, income, and often entrepreneurial spirit to rural areas, they contribute to local economies and foster community development.
This trend is particularly significant, as more people seek alternative lifestyles and remote work opportunities continue to expand.
First of all, let's do a quick fact check about digital nomads popularity here in China.
I think worldwide, of course, we do see a rise of popularity of digital nomads lifestyle due to the development of digital technologies and also more flexible and remote work modes.
Now here in China, I would say we haven't really had a national trend of digital nomads lifestyle.
Yet, you do see those digital nomad communities scattered across China, especially in the countryside.
And overall, I think the digital nomad lifestyle has been gaining popularity among younger generations here in China, on lifestyle social media platform, Little Red Book.
There are over 600,000 posts about digital nomads.
Then people are actually searching what do those digital nomads do for living and what if I want to become a member of them, so where should I choose the location and what should I do, and many of them who already choose to live a digital nomad lifestyle, which is also shared experience of working remotely in countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and meantime,
there's also this desire among young people to live in smaller cities or counties to pursue a slower and a freer lifestyle.
And the countryside in China is a good choice for them because they really go there to pursue beautiful sceneries, better communication infrastructure, and also more convenient transportation compared with traveling abroad.
And sometimes it's also easier for them to fit into the local culture.
And as you said, you know, I think it's also a response to the rapid working and living space for especially for young people living here in major cities here in China.
Yeah, actually, I know that one of our frequent friends, not of roundtable, but of other CGTM radio shows, is a digital nomad.
She is a scholar. She works, she's really good at what she does, and she travels a lot.
So when she's doing research, when she's writing a book, for example, and when she's being an online interview, of some of our programs, she actually perhaps is also enjoying sunlight on the beach, or maybe in a forest with good internet connection, surprisingly.
And that is really lovely lifestyle, and I can totally embrace that lifestyle if my job does not confine me in the studio, a live studio.
And the funny thing about digital nomads situation around the world is that we see a growing popularity in different countries and different places are becoming more and more welcomed by the digital nomads.
They're nomads. They travel a lot.
They traverse in different countries and different places.
And I did a little research about the popularity in terms of different countries.
Apparently, the Chinese situation is that because the cost of living is really affordable in many cities, and we have relatively great actually according to the research excellent internet connectivity in urban areas as well as some places in rural areas, it is getting popular as a destination for digital nomads.
As for the United States, the label I've got is cost of living various widely, yet when it comes to a digital nomads community, it is large and well established in cities like Austin, New York, and San Francisco.
And when it comes to, for example, Portugal, one specific character here is that Portugal actually has some welcoming policies with specific visas for digital nomads and freelancers.
And the community is also growing.
And these are situations, well, actually in overseas countries, it's the international situation.
So what is the situation here in China?
So if you are a digital nomad or you are already ready to welcome this lifestyle, to embrace this lifestyle, and you are not that sure about becoming international digital nomads or still thinking about doing that within the country.
What are some popular destinations that are popping in the eyes of digital nomads?
Yeah, I feel like usually digital nomads tend to relocate themselves to a place where there is good internet infrastructure.
I guess infrastructure in general and a cost of living is more economic as compared to mega cities like Beijing.
And many of these so-called nomads are people who are really in a sense fed up with a typical routine lifestyle in cities and they want to have a permanent for temporary escape.
And by the way, a very important condition is that the locations they want to move to must boast this kind of very nice natural scenarios.
One thing you mentioned earlier, which could bring a lot of healing, mentally speaking, physically speaking to these people who are really fed up with the urban side of the life.
In China, there is not really a lack of places which have those conditions.
Some digital nomads communities have already spiraled it in, for example, in Dalin-Vinnan province.
That has already joined a lot of media attention already and also in Anji, a place in eastern Chinese province of Zhiyang.
In the case of one community in Dalin, according to what I have read about, there are already 3500 individual community members in that community and in the meantime, there were more than 300 people who are still applying to join this community.
It seems it's pretty popular.
So I would say although a mature ecosystem is not there yet, but the trend is there, the momentum is also there.
Yes. In the last thing I said, I think infrastructure, beautiful natural sceneries, and also sometimes a very pleasant vibe.
And also a slow place. It's something those digital nomads are pursuing for when they're choosing different locations to work and live.
So that's why I think this example you mentioned also as well, in Anji, County, Zhiyang province in eastern China is a very typical example of how younger generations are choosing locations.
Because they are in this Anji County, there is this community known as the digital nomad Anji, also known as DNA.
It's a community founded in December 2021 and has already become a very popular co-working and living space for digital nomads here in China.
And this place is quite interesting because it used to be an old bamboo and wood processing factory because the local place of this Anji County is very renowned.
It's a very important place for bamboo and wood planting.
So that's why they're choosing this very typical location to build a co-working space for those young people who want to have a digital nomad lifestyle here.
And there are not only co-working space but also residential living areas.
There are also conference facilities for those people who want to work there.
And according to its official WeChat public account, this DNA community in Anji, Georgian province has attracted about 700 digital nomads to work and live and with an average staying time of three months.
And also their average age is about 30 years old and nearly 40% of them have a master degree or at least a received higher education.
And this is a quite a diverse community with a lot of professions, but majorly in content creation in IT, especially those people who work in social media industry, would also prefer to work here.
And a very typical advantage of this Anji County is of course they've got beautiful sceneries because it's the homeland of bamboo and YT.
And it's also surrounded by tea planting mountains and bamboo forests, a very ideal place to work there.
And also living cost to be as a digital nomad there is also affordable because they don't really charge for those conference facilities or co-working spaces despite accommodation fee.
And according to my own research and also media report, it can take about 1000 yuan even cheaper for you to live in its community and depending on what kind of apartments you are choosing.
And all these factors really contribute to this sort of scattered villages across China being popular destinations for young people to live as digital nomads.
This is very interesting because when I first encountered the concept of digital nomad, I thought it is something that is not for me.
It's for someone who is really good at what they're doing.
They do not need to live in the office anymore.
Did I just say living in the office?
That's the status quo for a lot of people.
You have to spend long hours in the office so that you cooperate with others, you communicate, you do part of your job, yet you have to also know that what others what your coworkers are doing.
But for someone who, first of all, is really good at what they do.
And second of all, do not really need to co-operate or communicate with coworkers too much.
They are the very niche group of people that can actually embrace this digital nomad lifestyle.
Yet it's actually not that strict.
A lot of work with remote working becoming more and more popular with the infrastructure they're allowing people to communicate online.
Actually if you want to, I think the possibility is there.
And of course, for those digital nomads, if they move to a certain place, they can create certain economic effect to the local or economic profit.
They have to spend on local service and goods.
They have to rent accommodations in the local area.
They may or may not will create more jobs for the local community.
This is their contribution to the local area.
Yet now what we're seeing here is that while these communities sees these people are not only as consumers for this community, but in the meantime becoming producers in the community, producing stuff, producing economic effect, as well as social effect for the community, for local people living here.
They are starting to make changes to improve the situation of their local area so that it can better cater to the needs of digital nomads.
And that is why we're talking about these different communities.
So what are some other things that certain local areas, once embracing and welcoming these digital nomads, starting to think maybe we can start a community or an incubator or a digital nomads hub in our area, for those kind of local, let's say local government, what have they done?
Well, I think definitely local governments in especially rural areas, they are trying to attract those, especially talent in this kind of content creation or just as simply in IT industries because as you said, they're also trying to use this opportunity to, of course, to introduce more young people to live and work here.
But meantime, they're also trying to have this expectation that what they bring can also contribute to the local economic development to the local region.
And one example, still the DNA community in NG, Georgia, and province.
I know that the local government, they're launching a lot of preferential policies to introduce young people to offer them preferential policies in terms of how it's renting.
And also if they want to start up their own business, they can also enjoy certain policies in terms of paying tax and also social security.
And also if you are an employer who worked in this digital nomad community in this rural area, you can also enjoy certain subsidies in terms of recruiting or employees.
So these are some examples of how local areas they are trying to introduce this young generation of digital nomad.
And I think that simply makes sense because as you said, they are not only trying to find a place to live and enjoy a slow place, a pace lifestyle, but also contributing economically to the rural areas.
Because again, I want to refer to this NG example, which is I think it's extremely typical because as we mentioned, this place is known for tea planting and actually the local tea planting technique is also considered and recognized as the national intangible cultural heritage.
So that's why you see this local community of young people who are good at starting up new business, they are launching some modern tea houses around their community and inside small villages and trying to offer some new places for tourists to not only have a place to sit down and have a rest while they are traveling, but also to have this opportunity to get to know
about the local tea culture.
And meantime, there are also some small-scale studios who are producing various cultural and creative content, some cultural creative products about the local by-charge or white tea culture.
And meantime, some art festivals are also being held annually in a small village, trying to let more people to know about the local culture.
And meantime, I think that's a very pragmatic approach to sell the local tea products and also to offer different jobs for local people as well.
So they need to broaden their sales network for the local specialty, I guess.
And in this regard, I guess really digital infrastructure is a key element.
And I think in this regard, we are actually talking about a wider national level development strategy in terms of getting every place, virtually every village in this country covered by high quality internet access.
According to the top official was the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology during this year's two session.
We are not there yet. China is not there yet in terms of getting every village in this country covered by 5G.
But in terms of a universal broadband cover, we have already made it.
We made it actually many, many years ago in terms of getting it in every village.
In my personal experience, I would say in most of the villages I have been to internet access is no problem at all.
And definitely, I think policy support from the government is a vital issue.
Internet is needed in areas ranging from same house rent, use entrepreneurship to social security, social welfare.
The ultimate goal is, of course, to create a better environment for these digital nomads.
And I think in the case of one particular community, I have read about a lot has been down by the local government.
For example, one local policy is that whenever the so-called nomads are living in that community encounter problems, either technical problem or other kinds of administrative related problem, they can directly go to a nearby government.
I think it's a tongue ship level government for consultation in order to seek solutions to their problems.
Another thing that sounds really, really nice and encouraging a little bit is that local government has a very service oriented mentality in the sense that if local government officials, if workers from the local government want to pay a visit to this particular digital nomads community, they need to apply in advance.
They cannot go there whenever they want because that kind of practice is seen by the local government as a random unnecessary interference of the community affair.
Well, that's really advanced to thinking.
When I am a digital nomad living in this area, even just for several months, it's kind of like my home.
And if you're not invited, you cannot enter my home.
That's the mentality, I guess.
And for many of the digital nomads, they are nomads for a certain amount of time.
But once they truly find the connection with local people, they truly find what they're passionate about.
Maybe they can start a business and starting to transfer from a nomad to a actual village literature in these rural areas.
We see, for example, in Sichuan province, there is also this digital nomad community here.
And some people find it very interesting to live here because they fell in love with the local flower and wood weaving craftsmanship.
So they started to introduce people to this specific craftsmanship, which has already been there and have around almost all 500 villagers living there are engaged in this traditional craft.
And what some local nomads and now villagers, new villagers are doing here is to include this technique into certain types of wood.
Or I think they are basically plants there to involve this weaving technique and allowing the flowers to still booming on the plants, on the branches.
So you see the beautiful weaving, weavering and you see the beautiful art craft.
And also after a while, there will be flower actually blooming on this art craft.
And that intervention actually is also helping this new art craft craft to get internet popularity.
And they have also helped, actually over four years, the economic ecological community, the digital nomad community has attracted nearly 500 digital nomads from across the country incubated seven innovative enterprises and established five work stations for collaborative products.
And the new villagers have not only brought new ideas to the older villages, but have also directly contributed over 100,000 yuan to the villages collective community the previous year.
So that's why I think it's really important for local regions, I mean local rural areas to think about this question.
I mean, how to involve local people when they're trying to launch this different digital nomad community initiative because for me, it's extremely important because that's how you make these kind of products more sustainable because that's how you want to include more people into this big plate and to also let that this project not only benefiting those young
people who are traveling afar to this area, but also those people who actually live here.
That also involves how, I mean, sustainable this approach is.
And meantime, another thing is that I think for local rural areas, it's also important to think about how to extract a balance between commercializing and also sustaining keeping your original flavor because those young people who, you know, somehow they travel here in terms of, I mean, to pursue this very original rural flavor in terms of not so developed, not so modern
infrastructure, but meantime, it is easy enough for them to live there.
But meantime, if you want to expand this project, if you want to expand to another, I mean, larger scale, you got to, you know, invite this different businesses or, you know, sort of commercializing things.
So how do you make this delicate balance is also a challenge for them, I guess.
What are some other, let's say, advice sting, hung that you want to give to those who want you further promote the development of digital nomad community in, for example, their villages?
Yeah, I feel like a benign mechanism have to be formed in terms of enhancing this kind of nice interaction between the local people and these so-called nomads.
I guess even for many of the commercial activities that these digital nomads will organize or they want to participate in, they can't do them alone in China's rural context.
If you want to get anything down, support and a cooperation by the local villagers are very key, are in many ways indispensable.
And I feel like the significant meaning of this kind of interaction, involvement is that they can really send a clear message to the local people that they're home soil, the place they and their ancestors have been living for generations are still a nice place today after so much migration and urbanization that has been going on in this country.
And such a message can really, you know, prompt some people who might have already left their hometown to go back to their hometown because when they see there are so many young digital nomads residing in their hometown, they will realize that, okay, I'm going to say my hometown is a nice place.
Probably for these young people, they need to, I mean for these digital nomads, they need to endure a relatively poor materialistic life in the sense that compared to cities, there is a relative lack of, say, entertainment or hotels, bars, cafes in rural communities.
But I feel like changes are gradually underway.
Yeah, and it's kind of what they are looking for anyway.
I think we've highlighted the economic boosts, the cultural contributions and the potential challenges of this trend.
As digital nomadism continues to grow, it is important to foster environments that welcome and to stay in these new residents from economic benefits to community enrichment in the presence of digital nomads in rural areas is a wing wing.
