Imaging Nanping: Bringing a millennial village into focus through tech-driven rural vitalization

Abstract: Faced with challenges such as inefficient resource integration and model homogenization in rural vitalization, the project piloted in Nanping Village, Yixian County, Anhui, applying Xiaomi’s “Focus, Ultimate, Word of Mouth, Fast” internet methodology. A “Temporary Party Branch” was established to improve government-enterprise-village collaboration, the distinctive “Imaging Nanping” rural IP was created, and an innovative “one-ticket” agritourism model was introduced. Leveraging word-of-mouth momentum and viral events, the project achieved over 100 million exposures, boosting village collective and villager income by 27% and 31% respectively, offering a replicable rural development model.

Challenge

Nanping Village in Yixian County, Anhui Province — a thousand-year-old Huizhou-style settlement — faces acute development challenges. Overshadowed by the gravitational pull of nearby internet-famous destinations such as Xidi and Hongcun, Nanping attracts only one-fifth of their visitor numbers, generating less than RMB 500,000 in annual collective income from a narrow revenue base. Over 40% of working-age residents have migrated out; cultural tourism professionals are critically scarce; and although more than 80% of new rural residents are women, social and professional connectivity remains weak. 

The village boasts 72 ancient lanes, 316 heritage Huizhou buildings, and eight items of intangible cultural heritage, yet resource utilization languishes below 30%, with protected heritage properties sitting vacant. Under conventional rural vitalization models, public-benefit projects survive an average of less than 18 months, with talent retention at just 15% — a high-input, low-conversion, unsustainable cycle.

Solution

From 2023, Xiaomi made rural sustainability a strategic focus, creatively applying founder Lei Jun’s internet-era maxim — focus, excellence, word-of-mouth, speed — to build a model of four integrations, a village IP, operational empowerment, and blockbuster thinking, driving three transformational shifts. 

Speed — breaking silos: In May 2023, an interim Party branch was established at the village level, pooling government, corporate, village, and civil-society resources to align decision-making, management, and execution. A visual upgrade proposal was delivered in just 47 days — researching, team-building, and implementing all within the first month. 

Focus — single-point cultural activation: Leveraging Xiaomi’s imaging DNA, the Imaging Nanping super-IP was born. At the awareness level, three seasons of nearly 30 documentary episodes and a published photo book have generated over 100 million online impressions. At the product level, six creative merchandise lines — including heritage-building playing cards and torreya nut pastry gift boxes — lifted secondary consumption’s share to 38%. At the experience level, 13 Instagrammable check-in spots and interactive installations extended average visitor stays from 1.2 to 2.5 days. 

Excellence — industry restructuring through one-ticket offerings: The village collective established a tourism company offering bundled experiences (parent-child study camps, wellness retreat weeks, corporate team-building packages) spanning dining, lodging, transport, sightseeing, shopping, and entertainment, with an average spend of RMB 2,000 per person. This generated over RMB 2 million in direct revenue and propelled the village’s total tourism revenue past RMB 26 million on 350,000 visitors. 

Word-of-mouth — viral events: Nearly 30 blockbuster events were staged, including a rice-planting festival, a concert by folk duo Xiaojuan & Valley Dwellers, and a Xiaomi SU7 electric vehicle parade through the ancient alleys. The Xiaomi Foundation contributed over RMB 620,000 in cash and materials and funded three libraries, a calligraphy classroom, and a music classroom, benefiting more than 3,600 villagers. Huangshan’s first village-level learning-by-doing Party school has trained over 300 villagers.

Impact & Value

Economic: Current visitor numbers stand at 350,000, with tourism revenue of RMB 26 million (up 30% year-on-year), village collective operating income at RMB 1.1 million (up 27%), and per-capita income at RMB 30,500 (up 31%).

Cultural: The Imaging Nanping super-IP has garnered over 100 million online impressions, earned Weibo promotion from Lei Jun and Xiaomi’s leadership team, received feature coverage in China Social Work News and Xinmin Weekly, and was selected as a model case of Yangtze River Delta cultural economy. 

Talent: Fifty-eight returning entrepreneurs have joined the effort; native-born Cheng Lu rose from village Party secretary to tourism company chair; returnee Ye Jing (a Beijing Film Academy professor) became a KOL with over a million followers; new resident Pang Yan became a rural vitalization mentor at Renmin University of China — embodying the attract one person, activate one village talent ecosystem. 

Scalability: The project has evolved from Imaging Nanping into the national-level Relatives in the Village initiative, extending to Ertaizi Village in Beijing’s Huairou District (awarded the Rural Vitalization Special Contribution Award) and conducting feasibility studies in Yantai (Shandong), Wuyuan (Jiangxi), and Wuyishan (Fujian). Xiaomi’s rural vitalization work is now embedded in its ESG report and contributed to its recognition as a China ESG Model Enterprise and its inclusion in Forbes’ 2024 China ESG list — a dual leap in business and social value.