Chinese 'new farmer' turns farm produce into fashion creations, boosting local incomes

Hu Mengfan, a 28-year-old woman from Suizhou, central China's Hubei Province, has found a creative way to promote agricultural products, turning mushrooms, vegetables, grapes and other farm goods into eye-catching high-fashion outfits.

Originally a nursing lecturer at Suizhou Vocational and Technical College, Hu quit her job in 2019 and returned to her hometown, Heping village in Suizhou, to help turn around her parents' struggling edible fungi farm.

At the farm, Hu worked in the fields during the day and taught herself photography, video production and social media account management at night, hoping to find new ways to promote local agricultural products online.

Her early videos about shiitake mushroom cultivation and processing attracted little attention. After repeated trial and error, she finally found a breakthrough by combining rural life with creative storytelling.

(Photo/CCTV News)

In one video, Hu wears simple clothes and rides a tricycle with a broken wheel through the countryside, portraying herself as a village girl.

The casual clip unexpectedly went viral, receiving over 100,000 likes.

"That was when I realized people enjoyed seeing this side of rural life," she said.

She later began incorporating local agricultural products into her videos, eventually developing her signature style: "farm produce fashion."

Local specialties including shiitake mushrooms, grapes, potatoes and Suizhou Paopaoqing, a geographical indication (GI) wrinkled-leaf non-heading Chinese cabbage, have all been transformed into wearable works of art, along with everyday rural items such as rice bags and fertilizer bags.

Her videos showing elaborate gowns and costumes made from ordinary farm products created a striking visual contrast that attracted widespread attention.

Each outfit was designed, hand-sewn and assembled by Hu and her teammates.

(Photo/CCTV News)

Initially, Hu and her team made the outfits with fresh agricultural products, which were eaten or used as animal feed after filming. They have since switched to eco-friendly materials to avoid waste and improve durability.

One outfit inspired by Suizhou Paopaoqing required more than 2,000 leaves to be cut, colored and shaped, according to Hu, who noted that preparing the materials alone could sometimes take two or three days.

Because many agricultural materials are perishable, the team often has to film immediately after completing a design. Some videos required hundreds of takes before achieving the desired effect.

"I'm not afraid of hard work. I just hope to showcase my hometown's agricultural products in a new way and help more people learn about them," Hu said.

In early 2024, her "farm produce fashion" series went viral online, generating hundreds of millions of views and bringing wider recognition to Suizhou's agricultural products.

Among Hu's creations was a dress inspired by Hongshan Caitai, a GI vegetable with a history of more than 1,700 years in Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province.

The purple-red stems of Hongshan Caitai naturally have a sophisticated look, making them ideal for fashion creations, Hu said. "I hope agricultural products from different parts of Hubei can complement each other and showcase the beauty of Hubei's farming culture."

Many netizens learned about the vegetable for the first time through her video of the dress.

As their works gained popularity, Hu and her team expanded their creative horizons, incorporating specialty agricultural products from more regions across China into their designs.

(Photo/CCTV News)

So far, they have made nearly 200 creative outfits featuring local specialty agricultural products from more than 20 provinces across China.

After gaining online attention, Hu began thinking about how to turn digital traffic into long-term benefits for her hometown.

Previously, her family's edible fungi business mainly focused on cultivation and wholesale, with limited sales channels and little bargaining power over prices.

Hu expanded the business by developing new products, selling edible fungi spawn and using online platforms to reach more customers.

Inspired by viewers asking whether they could visit the farm, she upgraded it to provide agritourism and educational services.

Today, the farm receives more than 10,000 visitors annually, while more than 100 mu (6.7 hectares) of previously unused farmland has been put back into productive use through integrated development involving agriculture, tourism and educational experiences.

"We have helped more than 300 farming households participate in specialty crop cultivation, increasing each household's annual income by around 30,000 yuan ($4,430)," Hu said.

As one of China's "new farmers" who embrace advanced technology and bring innovative ideas and skills into farming, Hu also launched a "new farmer incubation initiative," training young people who have returned to their rural hometowns in video production, editing and livestreaming.

More than 2,000 people have participated in her e-commerce training programs, while more than 100 trainees have joined her team to promote local agricultural products online, according to Hu.

(Photo/CCTV News)

In May this year, Hu was awarded the Hubei Youth May Fourth Medal, one of the province's highest honors for young people.

At the opening ceremony of a recent game in the 2026 Chu Super League, a grassroots football tournament in Hubei Province, more than 100 performers walked onto the field in outfits inspired by local agricultural products, combining a runway show with a themed dance performance and wowing spectators.

Hu was the creative force behind the show.

Looking ahead, Hu said she plans to continue exploring creative ways to promote agricultural products and support farmers.

"I want to use 'farm produce fashion' to discover and promote local specialties from different regions, and to redefine the many kinds of value agricultural products can hold," she said.

Meanwhile, Hu plans to further expand her "new farmer incubation initiative," diversify her rural business operations, and continue creating jobs and new income opportunities for villagers.