YUNNAN: In a sunlight-dappled courtyard filled with plants, a woman sits back in a bamboo rocking chair, sipping tea.The century-old house features a traditional yi ke yin courtyard, made of brick and stone - and commonly found in parts of China's southwestern Yunnan province.The tranquil space barely measures more than 2 sq m, but for 34-year-old Zheng Junyu, it is more than enough.A former presenter at Kunming Broadcasting Corporation, Zheng left her job in 2025 in search of a different pace of life.
Her passion for journalism had been waning, she said - and she could barely afford parking fees at her workplace. She felt like “a frog being slowly boiled alive”.These days, she lives a “quiet and free” life in the Yunnan countryside, one she says is entirely her own.“When the wind blows, the courtyard is like a dreamscape,” Zheng shared in a video posted on Xiaohongshu on Apr 13, where she has amassed more than 328,000 followers. “Amidst the tiles and bricks, your days slow down. It seems like the simpler life gets, the easier it is to be content.”For many young users scrolling through the app after a long workday, content like Zheng’s has become increasingly appealing.It taps into a growing yearning among many for something that often feels scarce living in China’s major cities: space, quiet and the possibility of slowing down.
