The Rural Gentrification and Its Impacts in Traditional Villages―A Case Study of Xixinan Village, in China

Abstract

Since the reform and opening up in 1978, China has experienced a rapid urbanization process, with an increasing urban population. In recent years, with the improvement of the rural living environment and the rise of the urban middle class, more and more people have moved from cities to villages in China. The gentrification phenomenon has also emerged in rural China. This paper takes Xixinan Village, a traditional village in China, as a case. On the basis of field investigation, it employs qualitative research methods and grounded theory to explore the emergence and influence of rural gentrification in the traditional village. The finding show that: (1) the rural gentrification in Xixinan Village was divided into two stages, namely, the setting-in stage of immigrants (2009–2014) and the rural gentrification development stage (2015–present). (2) The impacts of rural gentrification in Xixinan Village primarily include four aspects: population growth, landscape change, economic transformation and cultural transformation. The increased population mainly includes the urban lifestyle type of gentrifiers, new rural construction type of gentrifiers and returning home entrepreneurial type of gentrifiers. The landscape change is mainly manifested in the spatial form of villages, housing landscape, street landscape and other aspects. The economic transformation is manifested in the rapid development of rural tourism services and cultural industry in Xixinan. In addition, with the influx of the new urban middle class, new aesthetic methods and cultural vitality have emerged in Xixinan Village. (3) The rural gentrification and its impacts in Xixinan Village can be interpreted from three perspectives, i.e., consumption orientation, production orientation and the unique role of the government. Furthermore, the limitations of the study are briefly analyzed, and the “displacement” problem caused by rural gentrification in China needs follow-up research in the future.

1. Introduction

In 1964, the British sociologist Glass first proposed the concept of gentrification in cities [1]. The concept was extended to rural areas in the 1990s. It was used to describe the process of the middle class moving from cities to rural areas. It not only emphasized the rural population structural changes but also highlighted the broader social, economic and cultural changes involved in the process [2,3,4]. Western developed countries have generally experienced a stage of high urbanization and anti-urbanization, and rural gentrification is regarded as a manifestation of anti-urbanization or “amenity migration” [5,6]. Since the 21st century, this topic has aroused extensive discussion and lasting attention in academic circles. It is regarded as a fruitful path in rural research and has become a hot spot and frontier of international rural research [7].

Since the reform and opening up in 1978, China has experienced a rapid urbanization process, and the urbanization rate of the population has increased from 17.9% in 1978 to 60.6% in 2019 [8]. There are many phenomena in China, such as the urban population increasing, the rapid growth of per capita income, the improving traffic conditions, improvement of individual travel ability, urban traffic congestion and increasingly worsening urban environment. Urban residents’ environmental awareness and consciousness of life and health are rising, coupled with the rediscovery of traditional vernacular landscapes, especially since the 21st century. Thus, urban residents are increasingly motivated to prefer rural life, and more and more want to move from cities to the countryside [9,10]. This phenomenon is evident in the developed villages along the east coast of China, which has brought profound impacts on the economy, society and culture of the villages. The phenomenon of rural gentrification has also emerged in rural China.

The research on rural gentrification in China started relatively late and only yielded sporadic results, mainly concentrated in the urban villages in Guangzhou, Beijing, Xiamen and other places in the ‘urban villages’ in the eastern suburbs of large cities [6,11,12,13]. Tan also conducted a diachronic field survey on the phenomenon of rural gentrification in the Panyang River Basin of Bama County, Guangxi Province, a popular place for longevity and health preservation in China [14]. On the whole, the phenomenon of rural gentrification has emerged in some developed rural areas in China, and related research is still in its infancy. Both the number and the selection of rural case types of existing research are very limited. Accordingly, this paper takes Xixinan Village, a typical traditional village in eastern China, as an example. It employs qualitative research methods such as non-participatory observation, interview and event analysis, to analyze the impacts of rural gentrification in Xixinan Village. The main research problems of this paper are as follows: (1) the composition of gentrifiers and development stages of rural gentrification in Xixinan Village. (2) The impacts of rural gentrification on Xixinan Village. (3) The theoretical explanation of the gentrification of Xixinan Village is discussed.

2. Literature Review

British scholar Parsons first observed the phenomenon of rural gentrification in a study about British residents’ classes in rural areas. The rural gentrification mainly refers to the urban middle class migrating to rural settlements, for living and recreational space, thus causing the change in the rural social class structure, and leading to the shortage of rural housing and the relocation of indigenous people [15]. Gentrification is a gradual process mainly initiated and maintained by immigrants. These gentrifiers may be urban middle- and upper-class residents with rich capital, such as retirees and “urban elites” (national economic elites and cultural elites), who pursue rural pastoral life in order to “escape” from the city [16,17]. They may be artists looking for cheap accommodation near the countryside and are described as well-educated low-income people [6,11]. The motivations of these migrants in rural areas are different from those in urban centers, where, for example, the middle class is attracted by employment and undervalued housing, whereas rural migrants are attracted by specific rural amenities, especially those related to the natural environment. Parsons and other British scholars have shown that the “gentry” in rural gentrification is not limited to some specific middle-class people with high economic level and social class, and economic level and class composition are not the only criteria to identify the gentry group in rural areas. Diversified social groups with different purposes are likely to become the subjects of rural gentrification. As long as the cultural capital and economic levels of immigrants are higher than that of local residents, rural gentrification may occur [17].

Rural gentrification is a complex process involving the migration of the urban middle class from cities to rural areas [18]. It has brought about four major changes: the transformation of rural class structure, the post-productive process of rural capital accumulation, changes in rural housing structure and the motivation of rural reform [19]. In the study of rural gentrification in Quebec, Guimond and Myriam also emphasized the complexity of rural gentrification at various levels, including social population, housing and economic impact, community and culture, material, environmental and political aspects [20]. Davidson and Lees point out that any form of contemporary gentrification should include: capital dominating the restructuring of the architectural environment, a large number of high- and middle-income newcomers, local residents’ displacement and landscape change. The restructuring of the architectural environment means that the built environment in rural areas is changed by the capital “reinvestment” of land owners, housing owners, investors, developers, etc., emphasizing ecological aesthetics and environmental governance [21]. The structure change of the rural population is the most outstanding impact of rural gentrification, involving the characteristics of the population moving from the city to the countryside. The aging of post-war baby boomers in the United States shows a strong willingness to move to rural life. It is estimated that 2.7 million baby boomers moved from cities to villages in the first 10 years of the 21st century [16]. Landscape can most intuitively describe the great changes in rural gentrification areas, such as the transformation of rural areas from primary production to consumption LED landscape, the changing housing tastes in rural areas and the rising real estate prices [22,23]. Displacement has always been an important result of gentrification, including population displacement, housing displacement and space displacement in rural areas [24]. In addition, rural gentrification also means injecting new classes and social structures into the destination, not only bringing better social capital and networks to the local community, but also triggering discussions on rural governance issues, such as local land use planning, environmental aesthetics and resource management [16,25].

The cause and influence of gentrification in rural areas can be interpreted from the perspectives of consumption and production [26]. From the perspective of consumption, rural gentrification highlights the existence of a “new cultural class” in rural space consumption. It suggests that the core of the economic form in the process of rural gentrification is an experience economy and an aesthetic consumption. In the process it also emphasizes the experience of rural cultural connotation and the formation of specific cultural taste. [17,27]. The “idyll” in rural Britain and the soothing “Rocky Mountain” lifestyle in rural western America have attracted highly skilled urban labor, entrepreneurs and retirees [16,22,28]. From the perspective of production, it emphasizes the redistribution of capital and profits to interpret rural gentrification, not from the perspective of people. N. Smith put forward the theory of the “rent gap” (the difference between the potential value of land and the actual value of land) to explain gentrification [29]. With the decline of rural traditional agricultural productivity and the weakening of agricultural policy protection, rural landscape, rural space and rural built environment become less attractive to capital, and the potential value cannot be realized as actual monetary value, which objectively requires the emergence of more diversified rural economy and investment models [30]. Globalization is seen as one of the main drivers of rural gentrification because the middle and upper classes, the main components of urban-to-rural mobility, benefit from globalized capital accumulation and appreciation of land or property values. They allocate their assets to highly comfortable rural destinations. For example, the rural gentrification in remote and comfortable areas in the United States reflects the spatial positioning of surplus capital accumulated by high-wage urban occupations in the globalized service industry [31,32]. Clark believes that the two explanations are complementary [33].

3. Methods

3.1. Introduction to Xixinan Village

Xixinan Village is located in Xixinan Town, Huizhou District, Huangshan City, Anhui Province, China. It is on the bank of Fengle River, a tributary of the upper Xin’an River. The village was founded in the Tang Dynasty and prospered in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It has a history of 1200 years of civilization. With the rise of Huizhou merchants, it became the most prosperous place in ancient Huizhou in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, and it became the core of agricultural civilization in ancient Huizhou area. The village is a gathering place of classical private gardens, with more than 10 buildings of the Ming Dynasty and more than 100 houses of the Qing Dynasty, among which Laowu Dwelling and Lvrao Pavilion are key national heritage conservation units. “Fengxi Eight Views”, “Xinan Ten Gardens” and other heritage sites are clearly visible, and the three water conservancy cultural heritages of Lei Dam, Long Dam and Tiao Dam are well preserved. On both sides of Fengle River, there is the most complete “maple poplar forest” wetland park in southern Anhui. In history, the boom period was known as “thousands of cooks and thousands of people”, and the population reached 30,000 at its peak. Since the reform and opening up in 1978, with the reduction in the number of rural laborers, traditional villages have shown a trend of decline and hollowing out, and a large number of ancient dwellings have collapsed and been abandoned. Since the beginning of the 21st century, Huangshan Municipal government has successively implemented a series of protection plans for ancient dwellings, such as the protection and utilization project of “One Thousand Houses in One Hundred Villages”, and the construction of the Huizhou cultural and ecological protection experimental area. Thus, the heritage sites of Xixinan Village have been well protected.

In the past 20 years, the external transportation in Huangshan City has been greatly improved, which also contributes to the traffic improvement of Xixinan Village and the formation of regional advantages. In 2007, He-Huang Expressway connecting Hefei City, the capital of Anhui Province, and Huangshan City was completed and opened to traffic. There is a crossing at Xixinan Village (only 3 km away). In 2015, Huangshan North Station of a high-speed railway was completed and became available, and Beijing–Fuzhou high-speed railway and Wuhan–Wenzhou high-speed railway meet here. Xixinan Village is only 1.5 km away from the station. Xixinan Village is 1.5 h away from Hangzhou and 2.5 h away from Shanghai by high-speed rail, and it is only 22 km away from Huangshan Tunxi International Airport. Xixinan Village is a beautiful rural “idyll”, with famous history and culture and convenient external transportation. Thus, a lot of tourists and travelers have been attracted here. Xixinan Village has developed rapidly. It was listed as the third batch of traditional Chinese villages in 2014, the first batch of characteristic towns in Huangshan City in 2016, which Xixinan Village Creative Town was listed as, and the first batch of provincial-level characteristic towns in 2017. Now, the tourism industry of Xixinan Village is developing rapidly, and its reputation is rising. It is one of the top 50 most beautiful characteristic towns in the country and one of the most attractive tourist characteristic town in the Yangtze River Delta. In 2019, it became one of the “National Key Villages for Rural Tourism”.

3.2. Research Process and Data Processing

This paper mainly employs qualitative research methods, such as non-participatory observation, in-depth interview, event analysis and grounded theory. The authors conducted three field investigations in Xixinan Village in May, July and September 2019. We observed the village by the participatory observation method, such as its terrain and geomorphology, architectural distribution and landscape characteristics, industrial development status and residents’ production and lifestyle. We also investigated its tourism industry as tourists, such as the quality of rural recreation resources, home accommodation service and tourist activity routes, and other in-depth observations were made. Furthermore, we visited the tourism office of Xixinan Village, the village committee, the Government of Xixinan Town, the Tourism Commission of Huangshan City and other departments to collect relevant basic information. In addition, the method of in-depth interview was used to obtain qualitative data. We obtained data from 60 interviews with 5 groups: A means immigrants, with 12 newcomers interviewed (retired executives, designers running homestays, foreign homestay operators, entrepreneurs, painters who opened art salons, etc.), B means tourists, with 5 people interviewed, C means returned migrants, with 5 people interviewed, D means local villagers, with 30 people in total (9 small-scale entrepreneurs, 14 ordinary villagers and others); E means government staff, a total of 8. The interview included: the migration motivation of new immigrants and their perception of the ancient buildings and local culture of Xixinan Village, the interaction and communication between old and new residents and the impact of immigrants on rural management and tourism development. We also used Baidu News, the world’s largest Chinese news search website, to collect relevant news text materials of Xixinan Village. Major events in the development process of Xixinan Village were extracted based on local secondary materials and network text materials.

By using the method of event analysis and experience analysis, the development of rural gentrification in Xixinan Village was divided into two stages, i.e., newcomers’ setting-in stage and development stage. The ARCGIS method was used to visualize the housing distribution of new immigrants. Based on the interview data of 60 people, the impacts of rural gentrification in Xixnan Village were discussed. Using the grounded theory, the concept was extracted and the spindle was encoded (

Table 1. Examples of open coding.

Data Coding	Transcript of Interview	Concept Extraction
A01	Like us immigrants, the architectural style of each family is different, bringing in the outside culture, design elements. We are highly educated people. After these people come in, it is not only a pull to the local economy, especially to the local villagers’ ideas change.	Cultural impacts, architectural landscapes, conceptual shifts
……	……	……
B01	It has not been overdeveloped and is largely uncommercial, with generations of villagers quietly farming the land. Shady trees, cool and pleasant, here you can breathe the sweet air at ease, listen to the melodious birdsong, soothe the hot summer irritable mood.	Pristine, quiet, relaxing, cozy
……	……	……
C01	I miss the childhood in my hometown very much, or the home life is good, very quiet, very comfortable, free, every day in the village to take a walk, chat with pedestrians, very happy.	Nostalgia, homesickness plot
……	……	……
D01	Now there are many outsiders in the village, not much before, about 5 or 6 years ago. Most of the newcomers are engaged in tourism. They buy or rent a house to open a homestay inn. More and more tourists come here.	More outsiders, more tourists
……	……	……
E01	The most obvious changes are the construction of high-speed railway stations and roads. which not only make it easier for villagers to travel, but more importantly, foreign capital will come here to invest.	Transport improvement, investment
……	……	……

). So, 13 concepts have been refined and further classified into four categories, i.e., population growth, landscape changes, economic transformation and cultural turn.

4. Results Analysis

4.1. The Development Stage of Rural Gentrification in Xixinan Village

For a long time, Xixinan Village was mainly a quiet agricultural village, and few people visited. Since China’s reform and opening up in 1978, rural productivity has increased, and the surplus rural labor force has increased day by day. There are many mountains, few fields and the soil is barren. So, some of the young and middle-aged labor force go to cities to work, and others stayed home to engage in beekeeping. To a certain extent, this has improved the economic condition and farmers’ living standards in Xixinan Village. From 1998 to 2001, An Siyuan, an American, sponsored CNY 1.1 million and successively carried out the comprehensive restoration of Laowu Dwelling heritage. In November 2000, the Huizhou District Government issued policies to accelerate the development of tourism, and began to consider the tourism investment promotion plan of Xixinan Village. In 2004, Zhejiang University Andi Architectural Design Company was introduced to carry out the tourism development of Xixinan Village. Due to the competition of many high-quality ancient villages in Huangshan City, the tourism development of Xixinan Village was not prominent. After the opening of Xixinan Village in 2007, the tourism development plan failed and the foreign investor soon withdrew.

In the development process of Xixinan Village, there were two years of great influence, 2009 and 2015. In 2009, the Huangshan Municipal Government launched the protection and utilization project of “One Thousand Houses in One Hundred Villages”, encouraging social capital to participate in the protection of Hui-style ancient buildings. It brought the first batch of new immigrants to Xixinan Village. In 2015, Beijing Wangshan Investment Co., Ltd., which is controlled by Yu Kongjian, a famous landscape designer from Peking University, obtained the tourism development and management rights of Xixinan Village. In the same year, the opening of Huangshan North Station of the high-speed railway greatly improved the accessibility of Xixinan Village and its popularity soared. Therefore, the gentrification of Xixinan Village can be divided into two stages: newcomers’ setting-in stage and the development stage.

4.1.1. Newcomers’ Setting-in Stage (2009–2014)

There are 406 cultural relic protection units at all levels, and there were 13,438 ancient buildings before 1949 in Huangshan City. These ancient buildings are scattered in mountain areas. The government and the owners of ancient houses have not enough protection funds. So, these cultural heritages have been seriously damaged. So, in order to protect and utilize these heritages, the Huangshan Municipal Government launched the protection and utilization project of “One Thousand Houses in One Hundred Villages” in 2009. It plans to invest CNY 6 billion over the next five years to focus on the protection and utilization of 101 ancient villages and 1065 ancient dwellings. A new way was explored by combining government guidance, market operation and social participation. It established easy-to-operate local rules and regulations for practical issues, such as capital investment and subsidies, relocation, transfer of property rights, land transfer and housing registration, whilst encouraging outsiders (social funds) to participate in the protection of Huizhou’s ancient buildings. In the context of this policy, some urban elites came to Xixinan Village to buy local old houses as a second home, and twelve ancient dwellings were purchased in this way. As Mr. Du, a retired Huawei executive who migrated in 2011, said:

At that time, we also responded to the call of ‘One Thousand Houses in One Hundred Villages in Huangshan City’ to protect ancient villages and buildings. We came to Xixinan Village and bought an ancient dwelling―Youranju, which was moved from Yansi Town. At that time, the government wanted to build the New Fourth Army Memorial Hall and some house needs to be demolished. To protect these ancient buildings, I bought them and moved them to Xixinan Village (A6).

These newcomers are mainly from Shenzhen, most of them are corporate executives or retirees and belong to the urban middle class. They are owners of Fenglecaotang, Baoshantang, Jingruhuisuo, Youranju, Lvyinshanguan and other ancient dwellings. As the “new villagers” of Xixinan Village, their behavioral habits and aesthetic styles have a certain impact on the landscape reconstruction of the village. On one hand, they also expressed their preference for Huizhou architectural elements. The door and window design and furniture were repaired according to the protection requirements of traditional dwellings, and the typical Huizhou architectural style was preserved. On the other hand, these urban elites use and reshape the existing Huizhou culture and architectural symbols. On the basis of maintaining the original ancient residential buildings, they carry out cultural innovation and integration, making a new aesthetic creation. In addition, these immigrants are keen on the exchange of art and culture. They have turned their home space into an art salon to receive their relatives and friends. For example, Fenglecaotang Dwelling has been built as an exchange activity garden for the New Ideas Chamber of Commerce, Shenzhen Chamber of Commerce and the Association of Scientists and Entrepreneurs. At this stage, these houses were scattered in the ancient village, alternately distributed with the local villagers’ houses. The scattered gentrification spaces were observed (Figure 1). The local villagers still work at sunrise and sunset without interfering with the immigrants, and the village’s native way of life, humanistic order and social governance structure can continue. Immigrants’ activities revolve around their own residences, that is, the “home” has become the main place for the production of a gentrified space.

4.1.2. Rural Gentrification Development Stage (2015–Present)

In 2015, Beijing Wangshan Investment Co., Ltd., which is jointly owned by Professor Yu Kongjian, a famous landscape designer from Peking University, signed an agreement with the People’s Government of Huizhou District to obtain the 40-year tourism management right of Xixinan Village for the comprehensive tourism development of the ancient village. The project formally established a long-term cooperative relationship with the Xixinan Township Government and villagers through a contract, who formed a community of interests and established a mechanism for the joint management of heritage villages [15]. In the context of China entering the era of high-speed rail, Huangshan North Station of the high-speed railway, constructed in 2015, become an important hub of Huangshan City external transportation. Plus, with the opening of Hefei–Huangshan Expressway in 2007, Xixinan Village suddenly became the most convenient traditional village, which entered the view of many tourists, and became more and more popular. In 2016, the state proposed the construction plan of characteristic towns all over the country. Xixinan Village has unique advantages, such as convenient traffic conditions, beautiful natural environment, profound cultural heritage and foreign entrepreneurs. Thus, Xixinan Town was successfully added to the list of the first characteristic towns of Huangshan City in 2016. The local government has formulated the development plan of Xixinan Village and determined the construction target of a compound town driven by “tourism and creative industry”. The local government began to build the “Xixinan Creative Town”, attracting nearly CNY 200 million of social funds. Many new business forms have emerged, including Turenxueshe International Design Institute, Weiyanfu homestay inns, Qingxihanyue homestay inns, Xiguan Art Space, Huaxia Film Television Cultural and Creative Center and Chengzhuo Art Creation Center. The tourism industry of Xixinan Village has developed rapidly. Its popularity has gradually increased, along with the rising number of tourists. In 2018, Xixinan Village received 360,000 tourists throughout the year. In 2019, it received approximately 415,000 tourists. The number of tourists received an annual increase of 15.3%. In the same year, it won the title of the top 50 most beautiful characteristic towns in the country and the title of the most attractive tourist characteristic town in the Yangtze River Delta. In 2019, it became one of the “National Rural Tourism Key Villages”.

Since 2015, many local villagers who left for work have returned to their hometowns. By 2019, approximately 200 villagers have returned to their hometowns (interview data, E6). Most of them set up homestays inns and restaurants, such as Xibianrenjia and Heyunxiaoyuan Homestay, and more than 50 in total. At this stage, the government and enterprises cooperate to actively speed up the construction of infrastructure and public recreational places in Xixinan Village, promote the construction of characteristic towns and famous villages, strengthen comprehensive environmental improvement, innovate management methods, improve the landscape of the village and create a rural pastoral life. During this period, the production of immigrant gentrification space began to extend from “home” to “public space”, such as the construction of stone roads, the maintenance of ruins and broken walls and the remediation and management of Fengyanglin and Fengle River. In addition, Xixinan Village has become a “concentration place” of boutique homestays run by immigrants, creating a convergent gentrification space (Figure 1).

4.2. Impacts of Rural Gentrification in Xixinan Village

Following the interviews with 60 different types of residents in Xixinan Village, four characteristic categories of the rural gentrification process in Xixinan Village are extracted, i.e., population growth, landscape change, economic structure and cultural turn.

4.2.1. Population Growth

Demographic change in rural areas is the most prominent manifestation of rural gentrification, which involves the unique characteristics of population migration from cities to rural areas, including “immigrants and returning villagers”. It leads to an increase in the total population in rural areas and adds diversity to the social structure of the population in the villages. At the end of 2005, the total number of households in Xixinan Village was 952, with a population of 3143. At the end of 2010, there were 1280 households with 3840 people in the village. Since 2016, the population in the village has increased significantly. In 2019, there were 1365 households with 5273 people, that is, an increase of 1433 people and an increase of more than 1/3.

The first category of “gentrifiers” entering Xixinan Village is the urban middle class, which plays a pioneering role. These immigrants are divided into two stages of immigration. The first stage is mostly spontaneous lifestyle and retirement immigration. In 2009, under the promotion of the Huangshan Municipal Government’s project of “One Thousand Houses in One Hundred Villages”, some pioneers came to Xixinan Village one after another; approximately 12 households (interview data: A1) were affected by the rich cultural heritage of Xixinan Village and attracted by the high-quality ecological environment. Immigrants during this period are all from Shenzhen City. The first-comers recommended to their friends through word of mouth, and all were urban middle and upper class. As the owner of Fenglecaotang from Shenzhen said,

We came to Xixinan in 2009. Upon arrival, we felt that this place was very good and liveable. So, we actively recommended it to our friends. We brought more than 20 Shenzhen friends over one after another, and then our friends brought friends. All of a sudden, we fired up this village. For example, the village was visited by film directors (Huaxia Film and Television Cultural and Creative Base), LED wedding photography (everlasting) and so on. Through their power, the village was publicized, and more powerful entrepreneurs were brought in.

The second stage is mainly for investment and entrepreneurial immigrants in cultural, creative and art categories. In 2015, Prof. Yu Kongjian of Peking University launched the “Wangshan Life” rural construction practice, which largely enhanced the reputation of Xixinan Village. In 2016, the “Xixinan Creative Town” project was launched. Under the strong investment promotion of the government, many new business types and new enterprises have emerged, such as Shilili·Weiyanfu, Xuliqiaoge, Yuanzili, Mengxi·Fanghui, Xiguan Art Center and Jinxi South Bank. A marked increase has been noted in the number of migrants in the village. By September 2019, Xixinan Village has attracted a total of 73 high-end talents. These immigrants are mainly from Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai and other big cities. They generally have a high level of education and knowledge. The income level is relatively high.

The second type of “gentrifiers” in Xixinan Village is the returning immigrants. These are villagers who had gone out to work and returned to their hometown to start a business. This phenomenon is a relatively special manifestation in the process of rural gentrification. With the rapid development of Xixinan Village in recent years, many local villagers who left for work began to return to their hometowns to start businesses since 2015. By 2019, approximately 200 villagers returned to their hometowns (interview data, E6). These returning migrants are divided into two groups. One group refers to villagers who worked or started businesses in other places. After several years or decades of experience, their vision and knowledge have been largely improved. They also have a lot of savings. These returning immigrants bring rich cultural experience and sufficient capital to return to their hometown to start a business. The owner of Xibianrenjia homestay inn shared the following:

In the past few years, the development of Xixinan has changed a lot, and it has turned the world upside down. In the past, this street (Xibian Street) was like a place to shoot Liaozhai, and it was very deserted. Now, it’s totally different. Our family used to work in Wenzhou for 15 years. In 2016, we returned to our hometown to open a homestay. There is an old ancestral house in the family, which cannot be abandoned. I want to renovate it and protect it well. (C1).

The other group refers to young children who have received a good education abroad. They use what they have learned to actively devote themselves to the protection of ancient dwellings and the construction of their hometowns, such as the owner of the Wuhao homestay inn in Back Street and the son of the owner of Yuqingzhai homestay inn. They are a young generation who have injected vitality into the development of Xixinan Village after returning from school with their experiences:

I am a native of Xixinan Village and a designer. I have worked in Shenzhen City before, and now the village has developed well. I came back in 2017 and opened a homestay inn in the village. I made the homestay, house decoration and design myself. (C3).

In addition, some older generation villagers return to the village due to hometown plot, and nostalgia for childhood life. They lived in the city and were disgusted by the hustle and bustle of city life. After they retired, they chose to return to Xixinan Village for the elderly years. Although they have returned to the countryside, they are not completely ordinary rural residents, but more of them return to their hometown in silken robes.

Some of the migrants in Xixinan Village are labor migrants who come for work. For example, Shilili·Weiyanfu and Xuliqiaoge homestay inn are national chain boutique B&Bs/hotels, which are operated by enterprises. Their staff members, especially those who need professional knowledge and skills, such as homestay managers, are recruited from the city by the company. The housekeepers and staff at the Zhulinbian·Jinxi South Bank all moved to Xixinan as a whole following the transfer of the boss:

Our boss opened a homestay inn a long time ago, but it was in the Huangshan Scenic Spot before. The previous year, the boss moved to Xixinan. We followed the boss here. (D24).

In addition, Xixinan Village is only 15 km away from the urban area of Huangshan City, and it takes approximately half an hour to drive. Therefore, there are also many residents in the urban area of Huangshan or residents/villagers in surrounding villages and towns who only work in Xixinan Village during the day and return home to rest at night. Although they do not live in Xixinan Village, they have also become the labor force:

My family lives in Tunxi Old Street, and it is very convenient to drive from here. (D20).

By the end of 2019, the Xixinan Village had created a total of 300 new jobs, and the average annual salary of employees increased by more than 10%. The excellent working environment and constantly improving salary level attracted a rising number of foreign workers. In general, these immigrants have improved the overall quality of the population of Xixinan Village, and the population and social structure of Xixinan Village have been gradually diversified.

4.2.2. Landscape Changes

The landscape changes in Xixinan Village are primarily manifested in three aspects: the spatial form of the village, the housing landscape and the street landscape. First of all, from the perspective of the spatial form changes of Xixinan Village, the expansion of construction land is obvious after the entry of newcomers. Since 2009, the foreign population has steadily increased, and the government’s efforts to expropriate land and attract investment have been increasing (Figure 2). The agricultural land in the ancient village of Shang Village beside Fengnan Road and the town government has all been transformed into land for housing construction. Xixinan–Shang Village has become a gathering place for immigrants. Another gathering place is the newly built Sweet Community behind the Xixinan Town Government, which is a resettlement house provided by the government for local villagers, especially those in ancient villages. It is hoped that the villagers will move from the ancient houses, which are handed over to the government for storage and protection. In addition, the number of new houses along Fengnan Avenue behind the village has also increased significantly. Additionally, the public recreational places and public service facilities in Xixinan Village have been significantly expanded, such as the south and north squares, pavilions and tourist public toilets for villagers and tourists and parking lots, all of which have promoted the expansion of the Xixinan Village space and the overall change in the built environment.

The housing landscape is the most intuitive feature of gentrification in Xixinan Village because the foreign middle class has invested a lot of time, energy and money in the restoration of dilapidated buildings. Accordingly, the unused homesteads and abandoned plots are reused, and the housing space is reconstructed. Prof. Yu Kongjian transformed the idle township government building into a boutique resort hotel—Hetianli Hotel—and set a good example for the renovation of local ancient buildings and the design of homestays [9]. The design of Hetianli Hotel respects the original building layout and structure, retains the original heritage features and even preserves the original commune canteen cooking bench. He filled in new functions (such as the meeting room transformed into the lobby of a boutique hotel) and added modern life elements (such as floor heating, lighting and ventilation). These can realize the preservation, regeneration and reuse of heritage buildings [9]. The houses in Xixinan Village are all ancient Hui-style dwellings and newly built dwellings with “white walls and black tiles” (Figure 3).

The interior decoration style of immigrant houses is unique and different. Some ancient dwellings are repaired as “old as the old”, and others are integrated into the new ones. The old chimney was transformed into an entertainment bar; the wooden showcases were glazed and affixed with window grilles; the stone floor was replaced by patterned tiles. The patio with outdoor lighting is sealed with glass and installed with chandeliers, which not only prevents the rainy and humid climate from corroding wooden door beams but also does not affect the lighting. Moreover, Huizhou is very cold in winter. To adapt to the environment here, the owner of Fenglecaotang designed a stove himself:

I designed this table stove myself, and we teach them how to do it with the specialists and carpenters! It will be warm when my guests can chat around the table stove.

In addition, migrants have equipped their homes with modern equipment and services such as projectors, swimming pools and bars (Figure 4).

The streetscape of Xixinan Village has also undergone obvious changes, such as the improvement of the street environment and the sanitary environment as well as the beautification of the overall style of the village (Figure 5). In terms of street environment management, the government fully completed the restoration of the stone road and broken walls in the village in 2017. On this basis, the stone road and courtyard walls were beautified, and the courtyard environment was improved. Since 2017, the government has held a “Beautiful Courtyard” selection event every year to promote planting flowers and other plants among the villagers. In terms of beautifying the overall style of villages, the government established a leading group for the improvement of the overall style and appearance of characteristic towns in Xixinan Town in 2018, to strengthen the beautification of the environment of ancient villages. For example, the water pipes are outsourced with bamboo, the houses on Fengnan Avenue are painted, the storefronts are unified and monitoring equipment is installed. As a result, the appearance of the village has been greatly improved, and the villagers feel deeply about it:

The streets in the village have become much cleaner, the stone road has been repaired, there is no garbage and the overall landscape has become more beautiful, which makes our lives very happy. (D11).

Now, we also all know how to take care of the environment, keep the streets clean and stop littering. Now, the village is cleaned every day, and the streets are clean. I also responded to the government’s request and planted flowers and plants in the yard and watered them with rice-washing water every day, and they grew very well. (D16).

4.2.3. Economic Transformation

The economic structure of Xixinan Village has undergone significant changes. Since the opening of the creative town in 2016, the rural tertiary industries in Xixinan Village have developed rapidly. Now, 69 characteristic cultural industries and tourism service industries have been built, including Yiyihuiguan, Qingxihanyue, Jinxi South Bank and Weiyanfu. In 2018, the direct output value of Xixinan Village tourism was CNY 42 million, increasing the collective income of the village by CNY 260,000, and the per capita annual income by CNY 4800. This increase directly drove more than 600 farmers to increase their income, of which 30 farmers with 57 people were lifted out of poverty. Figure 6 reflects the changes in the number of hotels, homestay inns and restaurants in Xixinan Village. From 2010 to August 2019, 37 tourist accommodations were reported in Xixinan Village. In 2016, the tourism and accommodation industry in Xixinan Village developed rapidly, and the number of homestay inns increased significantly. At the same time, the restaurant service industry in the village has also begun to emerge gradually. Now, 18 restaurants are operating in the village, with the largest number of openings between 2016 and 2018. In general, with the gradual increase in the popularity of Xixinan Village and the increase in tourists, the economic structure has begun to shift to the tourism service industry. Not only have the number of newcomer homestay owners increased, the local villagers have also begun devoting themselves to homestay inns and restaurants.

With the influx of more and more migrants and enterprises, the housing prices in Xixinan Village have also undergone profound changes, which are primarily reflected in two aspects. One is the price changes in ancient residential houses, and the other is the price changes in newly built residential houses. As shown in

Table 2. Price changes of ancient residential houses and newly built residential houses in Xixinan.

Year	Ancient Residential House Price/m2	Year	Ancient Residential House Price/m2
2009	approximately CNY 600	2016	approximately CNY 2700
2012	approximately CNY 1300
2018	approximately CNY 10,000	2018	approximately CNY 5400

, from 2009 to 2012, the price increase for old houses was small, but by 2018, the price increased rapidly, approximately 17 times that of 2009. From 2016 to 2018, the price of newly built houses that were idle in Xixinan–Shang Village also saw a relatively high increase from CNY 800,000 in 2016 (covering an area of more than 300 sqm) to CNY 1.6 million. In 2009, the price for the first batch of migrants to buy some abandoned houses, old rural constructions or homesteads in the village was relatively low, generally only a few hundred thousand CNY. However, with the gradual increase in the number of house buyers and the quick rise in housing prices, some vacant houses (Xixinan–Shang Village) were transformed into new residential buildings that are too expensive for local residents by migrants or enterprises. Notably, the housing formats (ancient dwellings/new dwellings) and the property values of different locations in Xixinan Village are not uniform.

Before 2009, ordinary houses could be bought for tens of thousands. For example, there is an old house in Xibian Street that is more than 80 sqm and more than 80,000. It is very broken, which is equivalent to buying a foundation. But if you buy it now, you need at least 2 million, and you may not sell it. An ordinary house with two floors of 100 sqm, more than 1 million. (A1).

The house in Xixinan–Shang Village is now 1.6 million, and there is no real estate certificate. The villagers in Xixinan Village were originally moved to it. The land price was cheap, but the villagers did not move, resulting in the land of Shang Village being idle. Later, the government entrusted immigrants to rent and sell this house. At that time, it was sold at 400,000. (D6).

4.2.4. Cultural Turn

With the influx of the new urban middle class, new aesthetic methods and cultural vitality have emerged in Xixinan. First, immigrants expressed their preference for the long-standing historical buildings and profound Huizhou culture of Xixinan Village. They entered Xixinan Village to explore and study Huizhou architecture and Huizhou culture and use their knowledge and wealth to repair and protect ancient dwellings. For example, a middle-class immigrant who has lived in Xixinan Village for 10 years said,

We feel that the ancient dwellings of Huizhou culture are very precious and need to be protected, and we need to do our part for it. To protect ancient dwellings and inherit our traditional culture, we came to this village with such mentality. (A1).

Furthermore, it leads to the change in spatial cultural production and villagers’ skill accomplishment in Xixinan village. This phenomenon is reflected in the new space created by immigrants in Xixinan–Shang Village. For example, the decoration of homestay inns in Xixinan–Shang Village introduces Western culture and fashion styles, including British-style manors, bars, fireplaces, etc. After receiving professional training, the local employees employed by the newcomers have mastered additional knowledge about hotel management, such as flower arrangement and tea making, and become knowledgeable and aesthetic people. In terms of food culture, they change the traditional cooking methods of heavy oil, heavy color and salty Anhui cuisine, thus adjusting the taste of dishes and maintain healthy eating habits. In terms of cultural pursuits, the immigrants’ respect for local traditional houses, handmade products, tools and the wilderness and nature raises local villagers’ awareness of the symbolic meaning, intrinsic quality and economic value of these products. It also promotes cultural confidence. Again, these lifestyle immigrants and homestay hosts bring the idea of green production of agricultural products. Devoted to the field, they are the “new farmers”. According to the modern agriculture idea, they create organic green vegetable gardens and orchards, produce organic rice, corn and vegetables and do not use pesticides and chemical fertilizers. On one hand, they provide for themselves and their friends by using homemade food and wine. On the other hand, they supply these to their guests, even these homemade food and wine become homestay facility attractions. Immigrants especially emphasized the aesthetic preference for “wilderness” as reflected in their opinion:

Xixinan Village itself is a pure land, a wilderness place. What urban people come to see here, what they see is wild, natural, the original ecology (where human footprints have not reached). But the government has pulled up the turf and wild vines, destroying this environment. So, we must protect the wilderness. (A2).

They often give advice to the local government and the village committee, urging the protection of the pristine wetland of the maple forest at the entrance of the village, the management and protection of the Fengle River and the treatment of sewage and garbage in the village.

In addition, the conscious act of bringing art and culture into the countryside by the urban middle class is the force behind the gentrification [33]. Immigrants often organize art, culture and research activities. The “Wangshan Life” project chaired by Yu Kongjian has carried out a substantial amount of work in this regard, such as the International Cello Music Festival, the “Huizhou Country Squire Music Collection” rural music festival and “Turenxueshe” to carry out international training of rural design talents. It also introduced new creative industry culture. It has attracted many batches of architecture and landscape design students from Harvard University, University of Southern California and University of Buffalo to study and conduct design courses here [9]. The holding of these activities attracted a number of musicians and academic experts to gather in Xixinan Village, strengthened the exchanges with foreign cultures and enriched the beautiful artistic temperament of Xixinan Village and the cultural connotation of Huizhou.

5. Discussion

This paper explains the gentrification of Xixinan Village and its influence from the perspectives of consumption orientation, production orientation and the unique role of the government.

5.1. Consumption-Oriented

From a consumption perspective, the existence of a new cultural class seeking to consume rural space and the transformation of middle-class consumption patterns are one of the main influencing factors of gentrification in Xixinan Village. Since the reform and opening up of China in 1978, it has experienced rapid development for more than 40 years and has formed the world’s most populous middle-income group, with a population of approximately 400 million in China. These people have a strong “rural complex” [9]. Lifestyle preferences are the main driving force behind the migration of new cultural classes to rural areas. A series of urban problems (environmental pollution, traffic congestion, housing congestion, busy work, noise interference, etc.) brought about by urbanization have exhausted the middle class of the standardized and simplistic stylized urban life. These awakened their yearning for the rural life of “returning to nature”, enjoying the sunshine, air, water and freedom of the countryside, releasing the mind and finding oneself. Now, in some rural areas, good physical infrastructure and public services can be provided. Compared with the over-commercialized surrounding ancient villages such as Xidi Hongcun, the value of Xixinan Village lies in its feature as a non-commercialized village. The entire village is nestled beside the Fengle River and secluded behind the maple forest. The villagers still live their ordinary days at sunrise, without bars, neon lights or bustling commercial streets. The rural space is not disturbed by modern external forces and retains the characteristics of traditional Chinese rural areas. At the same time, safe and healthy organic food, clean water and air, simple neighborhood relationships and healthy outdoor sports (mountain biking) make Xixinan Village a “good place for retirement”. This unique rural environment and pastoral lifestyle precisely attract the middle-class people to the village. Most of the immigrants interviewed by the author expressed that.

Coming to Xixinan Village is experiencing a kind of life looking at the mountains. You can see the mountains; see the water and remember to live in nostalgia, leisure, quiet and comfortable. (A9).

The reason why I chose to stay here is because of the connection with ‘Huizhou’, and because of the ‘undeveloped’ original ecological style in Xixinan Village. (A11).

The personal preferences of the new cultural class will directly lead to changes in their consumption patterns. Whilst immigrants create personalized residential landscapes, the idyll is constructed as a unique rural cultural taste and cultural connotation experience and through various media discourse practices to spread about their own “ideology” and “aesthetic”. They promoted the cultural construction of Xixinan Village and the commercialization of rural space, and produced what the middle class wanted to consume: a “garden style” rural landscape and cultural identity.

I like living in Xixinan not only because of its beautiful environment and fresh air but also because there is a social circle. In this circle, we have similar cultural preferences, values and ideologies, and we all enjoy the current rural life. (A9).

Here, far from the hustle and bustle of the city, you can’t see the row upon row of prosperous high-rise buildings, and you can’t hear the noise of the busy traffic, but there is the ‘return to the countryside’ that the ancients yearned for, and it is full of paradise-like secrets and detachment. (A11).

5.2. Production-Oriented

Production is another important cause of rural gentrification. Gentrification has emerged in China in a rapidly developing and transforming society [34]. Under the impact of industrialization and rapid urbanization, rural areas continue to decline, and the status of agricultural production and agricultural economy continues to decline. Capital gathers in big cities and the gap between urban and rural areas is widening. The difficulty and low efficiency of agricultural production and the difficulty of rural life have led to the low enthusiasm of rural agricultural production and the outflow of the rural population in Xixinan Village. These rural difficulties are the result of industrialization thinking. In addition, Xixinan Village is located in the upper reaches of the Fengle River, close to the water source, and the local government has made strict protection regulations for it. Therefore, it is only a supply base of agricultural products and cheap labor, with lagging infrastructure construction and low actual land rent, and it is rarely patronized by profit-seeking capital. Therefore, the rural areas also form a state similar to the urban “land rent gap”, and the actual value of rural resources is far underestimated by the industrialized market value evaluation system.

In the context of post-modernism, the transformation of the personal preferences and consumption patterns of middle-class consumers, the natural environment and lifestyle of a traditional village conform to the imagination of today’s society for rural areas. Therefore, the idyllic lifestyle and well-preserved rural cultural landscape of Xixinan Village are gradually favored by the urban middle class and capital. At the same time, the opening of Hefei–Huangshan Expressway in 2007 and the completion and use of Huangshan North Station of the high-speed railway in 2015 have made the location advantages of Xixinan Village prominent. On this basis, the land value of Xixinan Village is re-evaluated and the potential land rent keeps rising, leading to the emergence of a “rent gap”, which drives more urban capital to the countryside. It provides a large number of production factors such as manpower, capital, technology, culture and resources for the development of the countryside. Driven by interests, the government, enterprises and villagers began to cater to the consumption needs of immigrants and tourists, and produced gentrified rural landscapes, which promoted the activation, reconstruction and rehabilitation of rural communities. It is worth noting that the urban middle class is not only the consumer of rural space, but also the producer of gentrification space. They bring their cultural preferences and aesthetic ways into Xixinan Village to construct new culture and produce rural space.

5.3. The Unique Role of Government

Rural gentrification in the West is often described as “counter-urbanization” or “comfort migration” [35], while rural gentrification in China is mainly based on the background of rapid urbanization in China [11]. There is the urban–rural dual economic structure in China. This refers to the coexistence of an urban economy characterized by socialized production and a rural economy characterized by small-scale agricultural production. This has led to the migration of the rural population to cities, the population reduction and aging in rural areas, and led to the emergence of more rural vacant and idle real estate, which provides a ready-made property supply for potential immigrants and the middle class. Meanwhile, compared with cities, the use of rural land in China has problems such as “dispersion”, “fragmentation”, “low utilization rate” and “low efficiency”, and the land collectively owned by villages is excluded from the capitalization of the land market [36]. In order to revitalize idle rural land, it is very necessary to drive the development of rural areas by attracting external capital with new methods and market-oriented means. In China, the government plays a direct and critical role in promoting or inhibiting rural land reform. Chinese governments at all levels have issued relevant laws, regulations and reform strategies in accordance with the authority granted by law and certain processes. Then rural land property rights are redistributed, restrictions on rural land market transfer are relaxed and urban capital is introduced into the countryside. These provide a prerequisite for promoting the development of rural gentrification. Therefore, in the process of rural gentrification in China, the government plays an important role and participates in every process of gentrification from top to bottom, which is determined by China’s special political background, governance system and land property right system.

In the first stage of rural gentrification in Xixinan Village, the local government carried out the reform and exploration of “supply side structural reform” on the original land property right system. The implementation plan of the protection and utilization project of “One Thousand Houses in One Hundred Villages” was launched by the local government, which encouraged newcomers and social capital to settle in Xixinan Village to protect old houses and the ancient village. This does not violate and break through the framework of China’s existing basic economic system. In the second stage, the local government cooperated with enterprises to actively advocate the development of tourism and accommodation industry, guide immigrants to operate homestays, and attract more investment and more external cultural enterprises. In terms of housing prices and housing sales, the government has also changed from the initial laissez faire to strengthening management. It began to formulate relevant regulations to restrict the private land transactions and sales. Later, it invested in the purchase of villagers’ old houses, and transformed home land into construction land, so as to gradually standardize land transactions. By October 2019, the local government funded the collection and storage of 63 houses in the village, and the circulation of 46 houses, so as to revitalize the idle homesteads, revitalize the land value of Xixinan Village and pave the way for the process of rural gentrification. This is also a beneficial attempt to reuse rural land resources under the urban–rural dual land structure in China.

6. Conclusions and Limitations

6.1. Conclusions

This paper tries to analyze the emergence and impacts of rural gentrification in Xixinan Village, and obtains the following conclusions:

(1) Since the reform and opening up in 1978, the young and middle-aged labor force of Xixinan Village has gradually gone to the city to work, and the permanent resident population was in a declining trend. In 2009, 12 ancient houses in Xixinan Village were purchased by immigrants with the support of government policies related to ancient houses, and new “gentlemen” started to settle in the ancient village. In 2015, the opening of Huangshan North Railway Station of the high-speed railway and the participation of Yu Kongjian, a famous scholar from Peking University, further promoted the gentrification process of Xixinan Village with more and more far-reaching influence.

(2) The impacts of rural gentrification in Xixinan Village:

① The population structure tends to be diversified. The gentrifier in Xixinan Village is not a single urban middle class. Immigrants, investors, returning immigrants, local villagers, the government and tourists have all participated in the gentrification process of Xixinan Village. “Gentrifiers” mainly includes the urban lifestyle type of gentrifier, new township construction type of gentrifier and returning entrepreneurial type of gentrifier, among which the lifestyle type of gentrifier is the pioneer of rural gentrification and the new township construction type of gentrifier is the main thinker of rural gentrification. With the continuous participation of immigrants, the local population is growing.

② Landscape changes. The landscape changes in Xixinan Village reflect the strong influence of rural gentrification. One is the traditional ancient dwelling-style architectural landscape of “repairing the old as the old and the old as new”. The appearance features of Hui-style architecture, “white wall, black tile, horse head wall”, are prominent, and the interior decoration is exquisite, and the living comfort and aesthetics have been greatly improved. The other is new buildings with “various styles and multi-dimensional symbiosis”, such as the emergence of Xixinan–Shang Village and the preference for new housing landscapes to create “village pastoral, slow life”. Along with the expansion of the spatial form of the villages, newly built “new villages” (sweet communities) and “enclave areas” (Shang Village) appeared.

③ Structure of the economy has changed markedly. Especially since the launch of the creative town in 2016, Xixinan rural tourism services and cultural–creative industries have developed rapidly, and homestay and catering services have increased rapidly. However, compared with homestays run by local villagers, middle-class homestay owners are not profit-oriented. Their main purpose is to pursue a specific rural way of life and preserve local culture. They do not want Xixinan Village to be over-developed and over-commercialized but to be a place to create emotional and authentic experiences. Great changes have also taken place in housing prices, including the rapid rise in the price of ancient houses and new houses.

④ Cultural turn. Certain class and cultural differences exist between immigrants and local villagers. These immigrants brought some new consumption concepts, aesthetic methods and urban living habits and mapped their own cultural logic to the rural space. So, the local villagers gradually shifted from the desire for industrial civilization to the pursuit of post-industrial civilization.

(3) This paper provides an understanding of the emergence of rural gentrification in Xixinan Village in China. From the perspective of consumption, the rise of the huge urban middle class has a strong “local complex” and desire to return to the countryside, and they project their cultural brand into the rural landscape construction. From the perspective of production, Xixinan Village has been dominated by traditional agriculture for a long time, and the actual value of rural resources has been underestimated. With the arrival of the post-industrial era, along with the improvement of transportation location and communication facilities, the land value of Xixinan Village is re-evaluated, with the potential land rent rising. The expansion of the “rent gap” attracts various urban capital. The government plays an extremely important role in the gentrification process of Xixinan Village. It constantly explores and innovates, launches new policies, promotes the protection of ancient dwellings and the transfer of homesteads, rejuvenates the land value of Xixinan Village and paves the way for the process of rural gentrification.

6.2. Limitations

Contemporary eastern China is undergoing a rapid restructuring process, which is characterized by the transformation from a production landscape to consumption landscape. In this context, the application of rural gentrification theory to study the development and transformation of rural areas has attracted more and more scholars’ attention and exploration. However, there are still relatively few studies on the rural gentrification in China. There is still a deliberate attempt to conduct gentrification research on Xixinan Village as the destination of traditional village types. There are also some shortcomings in this study. First, in the research process, only interviews were selected instead of structured questionnaires, so the full sample survey of village residents can be further strengthened in the future. Second, in the process of rural gentrification, the social integration of local residents and newcomers is an issue worthy of attention, which is not covered in this study and needs to be further explored in future studies. In addition, the “class displacement” problem has been a focus in existing research. This study found no significant “class replacement” phenomenon in the rural gentrification in China, consistent with existing relevant research [6]. However, there exists “class displacement” in Western rural gentrification, inconsistent with relevant Western studies [37]. It may be associated with China’s special land property right system, in which rural homesteads and farmers’ houses cannot be freely traded. However, in the long run, whether local residents will be marginalized or “displaced” needs further observation and follow-up research.