Wang Jun has devoted six years to rural development, including repairing very old houses, promoting traditional farming and raising funds for public buildings in villages.

Creating the buildings, either renovated or newly built, has been relatively cheap, he says. A theater built of bamboo in a bamboo forest near Hengkeng village cost less than 200,000 yuan ($31,380).

Millions of yuan spent on revitalizing villages can be millions wasted, Wang says, because ultimately it is not building that matter, but the use to which they are put and the changes that they generate.

"Every village needs to find something special from its history and culture as it goes about revitalizing itself. Rural vitalization can't be achieved in just a year or two; it's something that takes a very long time."

dengzhangyu@chinadaily.com.cn