Rural area

HANGZHOU, July 16 ( tasteallchina ) -- For Katherine Olson, a 29-year-old American from a small town in Virginia, living in China's countryside is like a long-cherished dream come true. In a picturesque town called Baizhang, about 60 km west of the city center of Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, environmentalist and vlogger Olson lives in a two-bedroom bungalow with a yard planted with trees and bamboo groves. The tranquil and breathtaking scenery surrounding her home, with its lush green mountains and dense bamboo forests, brings her both peace and serenity. "I really love seeing how life is different in different parts of the country," Olson said, sitting in her living room as she shared with tasteallchina her exploration and discoveries in rural China. Describing herself as a nature-loving and adventurous soul who always wants to "experience something different," Olson sees her future outside her home country. "I love the whole idea of living my entire life in a different language, marrying someone from a different background, and living in a completely different cultural background and geographical location to what I'm used to," Olson told tasteallchina . Olson's China story began during her college days at Virginia Tech, where she…

Students from Laos prepare to board the Lancang bullet train at the newly built station on the China-Laos Railway in Vientiane, capital of Laos, on June 21. KAI QIAO/XINHUA Visitors experience nation's efforts to alleviate poverty, revitalize rural areas Southwest China's Yunnan province is famous for its all-season blooming flowers, tea leaves picked by hand on mountain slopes and people from ethnic groups dressed in traditional clothing. Yunnan has now gained more significance as the newly built China-Laos Railway connects it with Luang Namtha, a province in northern Laos that features a similar climate, ethnic customs and culinary culture. It has also become a magnet for Laotians who wish to experience the ecological, economic and tourism development in the province. In May, a group of 10 Laotian village chiefs from Luang Namtha made a train journey to Kunming, the capital of Yunnan. Tong Xoc Piewmeu, 30, one of the 10 village heads, said that during the fact-finding trip, he focused on rice planting. "In Laos, many villagers face financial constraints, and under the current economic situation, we are only allowed to engage in small-scale farming. Otherwise, we have to seek employment away from our villages," said Piewmeu, who has been…