Rural areas around China trying to boost tourism are finding that social media is one way to attract younger visitors. One Jiangsu village invited a group of NYU Shanghai students to visit and create short videos showing off the local scenery and village life on social media.
On a windy autumn day, students and faculty traveled an hour north of Shanghai to immerse themselves in the history and culture of Qishierjia, a fishing harbor in Liuhe Town, located where the Yangtze River flows into the East China Sea.
The trip was organized by NYU Shanghai’s Community-Engaged Learning Office (CELO) and led by Assistant Arts Professor of Interactive Media Business (IMB) Yuan Yanyue and Assistant Professor of Practice in Interactive Media Business (IMB) Nicole Wang.
Twelve NYU Shanghai students, including study-away students from NYU’s campuses in Abu Dhabi and New York, spent the weekend learning how to film social media videos to promote the village, which is currently undergoing renovations to become a hub of urban-rural tourism. Over the two days, students learned about rural innovation and lifestyle, user research and content creation. At the end of the trip, students presented their final videos to local village leaders, showing their perspectives.
Professor Yuan said the village is trying to find innovative ways to boost its profile. “What the local village leaders want is to get new and fresh voices,” she said, including Gen Z foreigners. “Unlike typical vlogs that only focus on personal experiences, this trip challenged the students to spotlight the village with clear goals and purpose,” Professor Wang added.
During their visit, students walked along the agricultural fields, felt the strong headwinds of the East China Sea amidst an approaching typhoon, rode motorboats along the village waterways, participated in a tea ceremony, learned tai chi and kung fu, experienced Liuhe Ancient Town at night, and sampled local specialties.
Alongside the opportunity to experience a new place and the challenge of creating content, the students said they took away so much more from the experience.
Pitchakorn Siripakorn ’25 said he appreciated hearing from local residents about their reasons for returning to the village after working in a big city.
“It's quite inspiring,” Siripakorn said. “It makes me think of the differences between work and rural life. In an office, there is a hierarchy, but when you go to places like this village, you let go of this identity, and you stay grounded.”
He and his group wanted to capture that sense of nature and escapism in his video, so they selected clips showing the serenity of the flower fields and the gentle lapping water on the river.
Julie Beaulieu ’26, a study away student from NYU Abu Dhabi, said she enjoyed the opportunity to be creative. “I knew nothing about making videos,” she said. “It was a bit out of my comfort zone and I enjoyed it. And it kind of gave me a break from my regular school assignments, which are usually reading and essay-based.”
Powered by hearty meals of rice cakes and generous bowls of tomato noodles, the students worked diligently, filming content to showcase their perspective of the Qishierjia village.
On the final day, the students put the finishing touches on their videos before presenting their work to local village representatives Gu Jun, the founder of the Rural Innovation Academy, and Lu Ying, a local town leader, who said they were excited by the students’ potential. “In just a few days, the participants have shown keen observation and creative flair,” Gu said.
Professor Yuan said the trip offered a chance for students to experience life outside of the campus. “When we step out of our buildings and into the wider world—seeing new landscapes and meeting different people—it opens us up to a larger world,” she said. “I’ve always believed that learning happens in a variety of environments, and a journey is one of the best ways to engage in full, immersive learning.”