American vlogger captures beautiful rural China

Katherine Olson, a 29-year-old American vlogger, finally realized her long-cherished dream of living in a beautiful village in China.

Olson now lives in a residential house hidden in a bamboo grove in Sixi village, Baizhang township, Yuhang district, Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, embracing an idyllic rural life and immersing herself in the Chinese countryside.

① : Photo shows a view of Baizhang township, Yuhang district, Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province. (Photo/Wei Zhiyang)

②: Photo shows Katherine Olson. (Photo/Wei Zhiyang)

③: Katherine Olson shoots a video. (Photo/Wei Zhiyang)

Olson's China story began during her college days back in the US. She joined a laboratory for a chemistry class, where she made friends with her Chinese classmates and began to learn about Chinese culture.

This experience sparked her interest in learning Chinese through self-study and made her determined to go to China. She adopted a Chinese name, "Zhenglizi," a term meaning positive ion and commonly used in chemistry, but then changed it to "Yanglizi" to reflect her sunny and optimistic disposition, as "Yang" has that meaning in Chinese.

Olson came to China in 2016 thanks to an internship opportunity. She went on to pursue a postgraduate degree in environmental engineering at Nanjing University in east China's Jiangsu Province in 2018. After graduation, she joined Green Zhejiang, an environmental organization based in Hangzhou.

In 2023, Olson completed a 2,000-km bike tour of Zhejiang and recorded what she saw of the province's environmental improvements in a series of vlogs.

Her footage showcases the remarkable transformation of rural China over the past years. From a once-polluted lake in Wenzhou city that is now clean enough for swimming to a picturesque village that suffered from muddy roads 23 years ago in Jinhua city, her journey paints a vivid picture of China's green development.

Her videos struck a chord with viewers, garnering over a million followers on social media platforms.

The environmental organization Olson works with has an office in Baizhang township. In July this year, she became a long-term resident in the township's Sixi village, realizing her dream of having a home in a rural area in China where she could do farm work.

She wants to help villagers advertise some of their products. Fascinated by the abundant bamboo resources in the village, Olson sees potential, as bamboo can be made into small decorative items or processed to replace plastic products.

The environmental consciousness of residents in Sixi village has left a deep impression on Olson. As garbage sorting is carried out in the village, if she doesn't sort garbage properly, the villager who is responsible for collection will get upset, which indicates how much villagers value environmental protection, she said.

In the village, Olson engages in various environmental public welfare activities such as promoting environmentally-friendly straw disposal methods.

She has shared videos of her experiences in the village online, some of which have gone viral.

Olson believes that telling well Chinese stories isn't about nationality, but about sharing authentic, firsthand experiences. Her videos have wowed a global audience. A foreign viewer commented that Olson's videos show a side of China that most foreigners rarely see.

Olson continues to tell the story of China in her eyes, and how these experiences are influencing and changing her. She said that she hopes that her personal narrative can make more internet users feel and understand how a foreigner can grow under the influence of Chinese culture.