TV show's rural charm

Displaced celebrities raise the profile of pastoral locales.

Dirty hands, happy mind! That's the advice being touted by celebrities on a recent reality TV show. The stars, drawn from sport, stage and screen, are seen living and experiencing a self-sufficient rural life in the show, Ha Ha Farmers, which has been airing on MGTV, an online video platform based in Changsha, Central China's Hunan province.

The group includes actors Jia Nailiang and Jin Han, pop star Wang Yuan, singer Yang Chaoyue and former national fencing team member, Dong Li. All of them experience a farmer's day-to-day life in rural areas, learning how to plow fields, sow and reap crops, and fish.

Jin explains why he was willing to join the show. "My childhood was spent in the countryside. The show reminds me of the days when my grandfather rode his tricycle and took me to the wheat fields. He picked off the wheat and handed the grains for me to eat. That's the flavor I remember from my childhood."

He was also impressed by the industriousness and frugality of the villagers, which helped him understand how laborious the process of farming can be.

Jia says it was a great opportunity for him to get away from the fast pace of urban life and reconnect with nature.