Personal connection

For Ariela Asllani, a public policy major who grew up on a farm in Albania before immigrating to the US, the trip was both eye-opening and personal.

"Farmers serve as the backbone of any nation," she said. "I wanted to see how China connects farms across provinces to urban cities."

After underestimating the winter cold in northern China, she fell ill during her homestay in the village. Volunteers from CAU helped arrange transport to a hospital in the neighboring county at midnight, where she received immediate treatment.

"It was unfortunate that I got sick, but it was incredibly warming to see how hospitable everyone was. I felt genuinely cared for and very safe," she said.

The study trip also took the group to Sichuan, where they explored bamboo-based industries in Qingshen county. At a bamboo industrial park, students learned how bamboo is processed into paper products and other materials through low-carbon and circular production methods. Staff explained how enterprises work with local farmers to raise incomes while promoting sustainable bamboo cultivation.

Elisa Benham, a master's student from the United Kingdom, said the visit challenged her assumptions.

"Before coming here, I expected to see environmental problems, thinking that growing agricultural production and supporting development would lead to more pollution," she said.

But instead, many sustainable practices have already been implemented in rural China, she said. "Farmers are protecting and even enhancing the environment, reusing materials, and practicing resource conservation," Benham said.

She observed smallholder farmers using drip irrigation and minimizing chemical inputs while selling directly to urban consumers seeking organic produce. Similar practices were evident on agroecological farms near Dujiangyan in Sichuan, where farmers used no fertilizers or pesticides.