Xiapu, a village in Southern China, offers purposeful beauty. The beauty of Xiapu turns out to be completely fake for the sake of Instagrammable content.
Xiapu Village is famous for its seafood. But years of poor harvests and seas have caused the region's economy to suffer. The local government has a brilliant idea to turn this village into a tourist spot.
There is nothing wrong with the idea, in fact it deserves appreciation. But what's interesting, everything in this village is deliberately made for the sake of Instagrammable photo content, in other words.
As in this photo, the farmer who is seen herding buffalo is actually a model who acts as a farmer for photo or video needs in the village.
So it is with these people. They are actually people who pretend to act as fishermen in the village for the needs of tourists.
Many photos of the beauty of Xiapu Village are circulating on Weibo, a Chinese-style Twitter-like social network.
In between shootings, the 'farmers' and the animals beside them sometimes take a break. Both human and animal models, everyday 'work' back and forth for hours in front of photographers who capture their acting.
The models who act as farmers, fishermen, traders in the village, offer services to pose naturally for photo collections.
To make the photo effect look foggy, create an artificial fog by blowing smoke.
Netizens on Weibo are divided about this tourist area. Some are upset that this is a scam, while others feel that it doesn't matter as long as the photos are good and can show off on social media.
Every day, there are always a line of photographers who capture the 'life' in Xiapu Village.
These models dress up as fishermen and wait for the photographer's signal to cast nets. The popularity of this village is increasing because many people are inspired by YouTuber Li Ziqi who always displays the beauty of living in the countryside.