Yin Yantong, 52, is the only blacksmith in the Wuyishan area. Yin's handmade knives and farming implements are stronger and more durable than machine-made tools, a factor that provides a slim hope of survival in a highly industrialized world.

The shop's sign indicates two blacksmiths, but Yin has worked alone since poor health forced his wife to quit the trade last year.

It takes Yin six hours to make a kitchen knife. He doesn't know how many times he hammers metal each day, but his right arm is clearly better developed and stronger than his left.

At work, Yin wears a large T-shirt, a straw hat and usually wraps an old towel around his neck to catch the sweat droplets that fall as he pumps the bellows to raise the temperature in the forge.

All the tools and equipment inside the 15-sq-m shop were passed down to Yin by his father. They are rusty and covered with thick black grime.

Yin works almost every day, the only exceptions being Lunar New Year or the occasions when his daughter and son return from university.

He earns about 2,000 yuan ($327) a month, but many people, including his children, are trying to persuade him to quit.

"It's a really hard job and every day after I close the shop, my hands shake when I use chopsticks," he said.

Yin has had several apprentices, but none has lasted the course. "I love the work and don't know what else I can do except hammer iron. I'll continue to smash away until the day I can't stand up anymore," he said.

Life is also hard for Zou Quanhui, 40, the owner of a small shop that sells traditional handmade cakes.

A number of plain plastic bags filled with small, round cakes were lying on a shelf in the 20-sq-m room. The sticky rice cake has a history of 200 years, and it's a local tradition that every family buys some during the holidays.

A skilled person can make 5 kilograms of cakes a day, but Zou and his mother, who is older than 70, bake just once a week because only the elderly villagers eat them now.

It's difficult to make a living selling cakes, so Zou also does odd jobs to bring in some extra cash.

"We once planned to close, but some elderly neighbors came and begged us to stay open because they liked the flavor of the cakes and couldn't find them anywhere else," he said. "My mother cried, and so the shop is still open. But, with the old people passing away gradually, we will close sooner or later."

Longevity

Like many villages in China's vast rural areas, Xiamei is chiefly populated by children, women and the elderly. Every morning after breakfast, people gather at the Bench of Beauty to chat, sing, listen to Peking opera and play chess or mahjong.

"Local people are still very honest and friendly and almost every family gate is open," said Zhang Shuang, a student from Shanghai. "When people discovered that we had entered their yards to take photos, they smiled and began chatting with us."

With such a clean environment and healthy lifestyle, Xiamei residents are long lived.

Zou Changcai, 82, still seems like a young man. He once met two visitors at the ancestral hall of the Zou family and sang folk songs because he was so happy to see them. To his surprise, they gave him 60 yuan out of gratitude.

Zou thought he had spotted a business opportunity and so every day he goes straight to the hall after finishing his farm work to wait for visitors. However, few people visit Xiamei now and business is poor. Zou remains cheerful, though, and will sing for himself if no one requests a song.

Liu Guiying, 79, has a comparatively prosperous life because both her children work for the local government, but she still sells handmade baby shoes in the village.

"I learned how to make baby shoes when I was young," she said. "If you want to live longer, you need to find some work for yourself."

Zhu Ezai, who selects tea for producers from May to August, earns 30 yuan for a 12-hour day, which helps to cover her living expenses.

"My children treat me very well, but I know they work very hard just to make ends meet. I can earn some pocket money by working and it's my way of exercising," she joked.