Wild life enthusiasts

A young couple that ventured into the mountains just outside the capital city have been exploring not just a pastoral life, but better ways of coexisting with nature.

Since the arrival of spring, Zhang Hehe and her boyfriend Zhao Tianxiao have been rising with the lark to care of the land they rented seven years ago.

Both born in Beijing in the 1980s, the couple have applied fertilizer, turned the soil, sowed seeds and laid the groundwork for farm animals they had planned to introduce.

Now that the summer has set in, it is busier than ever.

"It's hot and dry, and the seedlings need more water, which needs to be collected from underground and carried by hand," Zhang says.

"Plus, weeds grow faster and have to be taken care of," she adds.

About 70 kilometers northeast of downtown Beijing, the couple, both with a background of biological and environmental science, have managed to live off the land while enjoying the fun of nature and their efforts in preserving it.

The land covers an area of 2 hectares and sits in a satoyama setting, a Japanese term that refers to the borderland between human habitation and nature. They have built their life in an unassuming abode amid mountains, farmland, forests and a fruit garden.

"We came here to see if we could fit into the local ecological system-to go about our lives without interfering with other living things," Zhang explains.