Wang Wei Photo: Courtesy of A-lab

Hong Huang (left) and musician Tie Qiao Photo: Courtesy of A-lab

Xiayuancun, a village only 50 kilometers north of the urban center of Beijing, has attracted a number of artists, musicians, designers and more. Some of them like Hong Huang, has even lived in the village for 20 years. 

Chinese studio A-lab decided to work with Hong, a senior publisher and influencer, to record the lives of people in the village through short V-logs. Each three-minute-long episode of the 90-episode series will seek to answer different questions about the artists and local villagers. 

Like many rapidly emptying villages in China, most young and middle-aged people in Xiayuancun have moved to big cities for work, leaving only elderly residents behind. 

According to A-lab's Wang Wei, the Come to Xiayuancun video series, which will be released on a number of streaming sites, will aim to answer questions such as "What do today's villages and villagers look like?" and "What are the artists and art in the village like?"

"An art village is a lifestyle, and a social reality as well. We will act as a platform for the village through V-logs in order to open the door for discussion among researchers, artists and media," she said.  

In the series, Hong will tour areas of the village such as the morning market and supermarket, while artists Lao La, Zhao Gang, He Zi and Tie Qiao will tell their personal stories of how they learned about and moved to the village. 

According to Sun Yiming, the series' director, these artists were seeking their personal "Mecca" for art in the hearts, and Xiayuancun was the ideal place for them. 

Newspaper headline: Mecca for art