Tang Guanhua and Xing Zhen said, They just want to explore another way of life for those who can not adapt to the modern urban society. on the mountainside of a high mountain in eastern China, green plants cover an insignificant residence. A young couple has been experimenting with self - sufficiency for about five years.
Tang Guanhua is 26 years old and has a design company at home. In the eastern coastal province of Laoshan, Shandong, he and his 31 year old former securities manager's wife, Xing Zhen, are living on their own by two of them. From shoes worn here to electricity, everything is made by themselves.
Tang Guanhua sat in a cabin that he had spent more than two years using bamboo, rock and earth.
the couple, wearing their own sewn clothes, showed us their storage shelves, filled with a bottle of bottles of vinegar and a can of salt collected by the evaporation of the sea water. They also showed us a huge device leaning against the wall. They tied the bamboo together with rope and made this wonderful weaving device. One of the sources of inspiration for Tang Guanhua and his wife is John Seymour. The British launched a campaign half a century ago to promote their own way of life.
but it is not easy for them to come to this stage.
this hut is part of their self - sufficient life experiment.
Tang Guanhua grew up in Qingdao, a thriving port city of tourism and high-tech industries, claiming to be a city kid. In the past, he thought that "everything can be bought with money" and that he knew nothing about the difference between lettuce and rape, wheat and rice. In 2010, he rented a shabby brick house from a local farmer and renovated it. Tang Guanhua said that before that, he had foreseen the difficulties that he might face, so he made every effort to make preparations.
even so, unexpected difficulties still caught him off guard. Without gas and kitchenware, Tang Guanhua and a few volunteers could only eat raw peppers for dinner. Without bathrooms, they could only dig holes in the yard until there was nowhere to dig.
"until then, I came up with a solution." Tang Guanhua refers to the problem of dealing with human excrement. In one year, he built a septic tank made of bamboo, completed the renovation work of the house, and began to plant leeks, lettuce and other vegetables.
Xing Zhen has known him before Tang Guan Hua started self-sufficiency experiments. At first, she didn't understand it. However, after seeing Tang Guanhua's experimental site in Laoshan, she was infected by the enthusiasm of him and the volunteers who rushed there.
"they are quite enthusiastic and sincere. They are not like other people I have seen, and they will not try to give up their minds without trying. " She recalls.
is different from Tang Guanhua. Xing Zhenxian did not want to be a pioneer in returning to nature before. After studying economics for 5 years, she found a nine to five job that accords with expectations. The slim woman wearing glasses often updates their couple's work progress on their blog. She described herself as a "good girl" and always followed the crowd. She said, "I don't know how to think independently."