Our Story · Since 2014
A village is made
by the people in it.
Ourland brings people together around everyday life in the Chinese countryside. A shared meal, a familiar face, something made by hand: these are the small things that make a place feel like home.
Rooted in Everyday Life
Come for the countryside.
Remember the people.
Our work began in Zhangma Village, Shanghai, in 2014. We stay involved in the places we help bring to life, caring for the spaces, meals, activities and relationships that let a village welcome people over time.
Residents, local families, makers and visitors meet in the same courtyards and around the same tables. For someone arriving from overseas, these ordinary moments offer a way to get to know China through people and daily routines.
The Meaning of 義田
A place we care for,
together.
Sharing, mutual care and a life in common are at the heart of Ourland.
In Zhangma, people describe their community as a family without blood ties. Trust grows through cooking, celebrating, working and helping one another. The village becomes familiar through the people who are there.
That spirit inspired Zou Qinqi · 走亲戚, our seven-day visit. In Chinese, the name means visiting relatives. For us, it expresses a warm, personal way to encounter village life.
Small Moments, Lasting Impressions
Leave room
for ordinary life.
Food growing in a field. A maker at work. A conversation that carries on after dinner.
Village life has its own rhythm. Our seven-day programme is being developed around time to share that rhythm, with the details of each visit to be confirmed with our team.
Whether you are travelling to China, already living here, or reconnecting with a culture you know, start by getting to know the places and people behind Ourland.
Explore Zou Qinqi →
Different Places, Shared Spirit
Three villages.
Three ways of seeing.
Zhangma and Hongtian are in different parts of Shanghai; Daqian lies in the Taihang Mountains of Shanxi. Each has its own landscape, people and daily life.
These pages introduce the wider Ourland family. The locations for your seven-day visit will be confirmed as the programme takes shape.