QIXIAN, Shanxi: Cabbages and ears of corn sit piled in the corner of a tidy rural courtyard, ready to be consumed during the coming winter. Red lanterns hang above, and a sculpture of Chairman Mao Zedong presides over it all.

Despite its humble appearance, this small courtyard is well known to the residents of Fengze village, Qiqian county, Shanxi Province, as a center of learning.

Its owner, Quan Yong, a 48-year-old farmer, has operated a free lending library and cinema for local villagers and migrant workers out of the site since 1996.