Zhu Rong is 27 and was born in the village but went off to study automotive engineering at Nanjing University. After graduating, she went to work in Wuxi city for a year but was wooed back by Wu in 2007 to implement her radical plans. She has not looked back since, despite her parents' initial doubts.

"I was glad to return," Zhu said. "I have a sense of achievement because I have a big plan and I can realize it and help to improve the lives of the villagers. It is a five-year plan to build this village into the most beautiful village in China."

Zhu lists four elements of her vision for the beautification: good scenery and environment, boosting the village economy so residents can invest in quality development, providing good services to increase the happiness quotient and building on the local culture and history. On this latter point, Zhu points to the nearby 1,300-year-old temple and says there are many local folk tales which she wants to collect and exploit.

In contrast to Shanlian, Lishe likes to dwell more on its past. It is home to the People's Republic of China's first economists and has built a museum in their memory. And, despite standing in the shadow of the towering modern steel and glass buildings of the new financial and industrial zone, its 3,500 residents enjoy a largely tranquil lifestyle. That is, until the weekly dragon dance is performed, when the main street and square are packed with spectators of the colorful and traditional scene accompanied by the banging of drums.

If two villages can embody the blending of the old and the new, the yin and the yang of Wuxi, it is surely these two, although the avid explorer will assuredly find many more.