"This Ninghai village is so gorgeous, really hard to believe!" On an early July weekend, Mr. Erdem Ozturk, overseas communication officer (OCO) of Ningbo municipality, had a fantastic one-day village tour in Ninghai county of Ningbo, Zhejiang province, where he plucked tea leaves, picked watermelons, went fishing and cooked seafood. Erdem was deeply impressed by his "village life", "For villages of Ningbo, you can't imagine how clean and beautiful they are, and their residents can earn money without ever leaving their hometown. Brilliant!"
“寧海的農村不像農村，太美了！”七月上旬的一個周末，寧波海外傳播官Erdem Ozturk過得無比充實，采茶、摘西瓜、拉網、做海鮮……經歷了一天“農夫漁夫”生活后，Erdem感觸頗深，“寧波的農村都這么干凈，而且村民不離開家就能賺錢，太厲害了！”
Hailing from Türkiye, Erdem has settled in China for nearly 10 years. As a native urbanite, he is always fascinated by rural life. "While there are also villages in Türkiye, I rarely visit them." Yet he has visited many villages in different cities since moving to China, among which Gejia Village in Ninghai and Chengyang Village in the Dongqian Lake Tourist Resort of Ningbo strike him as the best.
Erdem是土耳其人，來中國已近10年。從小生活在城市里的他，對農村充滿好奇，“土耳其也有鄉村，但我很少去。”來到中國之后，他去過許多城市的鄉村，讓他印象深刻的是寧海的葛家村和東錢湖的城楊村。
"It's different from the traditional countryside that I would expect. It's very clean here. You can find paintings on the walls and fragrant flowers everywhere. And what is more incredible is that all the villagers have their own unique crafts." The travelogues of Erdem’s earlier visit to Ninghai's Gejia Village were published in foreign magazines. They went viral worldwide and further aroused Erdem’s interest in Ningbo’s villages. Therefore, he spent a weekend experiencing the rural life in Ninghai with his girlfriend.
“和我想象中的農村不一樣，這里很干凈，而且墻上有畫，到處有花，村民都有自己的絕活，很厲害。”Erdem游覽寧海葛家村后寫下的游記，刊發在外文雜志上，受到了來自世界各地的不少關注，這也讓他對更多的寧波鄉村產生了興趣。趁著周末，他和女朋友來到寧海，想要進一步體驗農村生活。
As they strolled down Xiafengcha village, Yuelong sub-district, antique-style residences came into view, together with tidy backyards, creative sceneries with lovely hives as well as an ocean park. And in the distance, tea plantations opened out into the rolling Wangfulou Mountain. Here Erdem had the chance to pluck tea leaves with the locals and learned that tea was not only a nice beverage but also a great ingredient for local milk tea, refreshments and cuisine.
來到躍龍街道下楓槎村，白墻黛瓦的住宅，干凈整潔的庭院，蜂巢樂園、海洋樂園等藝術景觀依次呈現，背景是連綿不絕的望府樓茶山。Erdem跟著當地村民上山體驗采茶，了解到原來茶葉不僅可以飲用，還可以制作特色奶茶、做茶點，還能入菜。
The hospitable villagers invited Erdem and his girlfriend to lunch. With the help of a female villager, Erdem even cooked noodles. Later on, he went to the village's new coffee shop and became its first customer. "It's incredible that the locals make such great coffee. It's even a cut above others."
到了飯點，熱情的村民招呼他們進家里吃飯。Erdem在村里一位大姐的指導下，為大家煮了面，還成了村里咖啡館開業后的第一位客人。“不可置信，咖啡師就是土生土長的村民。咖啡做得很好，比一般咖啡館都好！”
Standing by the tranquil bay under the clear sky, Erdem felt homesick. He hasn’t returned to Türkiye for over two years due to the pandemic. "Just like here, my hometown is also adjacent to the sea."
藍天白云下的寧靜海灣，勾起了Erdem對家鄉的思念。因為疫情，他已經兩年多沒有回到土耳其了，“我的家鄉也靠海，和這里很像。”
Erdem was invited to a special tour of Qiangjiao Town by a local fisherman. According to the self-introduction of this fisherman captain, he and his wife make a good living by their own effort, i.e., boat-steering and boat-meal-cooking.
受漁民邀請，Erdem登上休閑漁船，體驗強蛟鎮的特色旅游。船老大說，他和妻子搭檔，一個開船一個做船餐，不用起早貪黑，靠著開“夫妻船”，把日子過得紅紅火火。
"The villages are attractively adorned with artistic creations, beautiful flowers and other ornaments. And the locals enjoy prosperous and fulfilling lives. They are kind and always smiling." Erdem gained deeper insights into Ninghai villages after this one-day trip.
“村子美，村民富，很難想象在農村的日常生活，會被創意畫廊、花叢、各類裝飾包圍！村民都很和善，笑瞇瞇的，看起來生活很好！”Erdem經過一天的鄉村生活體驗，對寧海的農村有了更深的認識。
Ninghai has flung itself into translating lucid waters and lush mountains into invaluable assets in recent years. To date, this coastal county has become a home to over 200 scenic villages and attracted hordes of tourists around the world. What’s more, social media influencers in overseas communication nowadays deem those villages internet-famous photogenic spots.
近年來，寧海積極探索“綠水青山”向“金山銀山”轉化的有效途徑，建成200余個“景區村”，吸引了不少國際友人前來體驗、參觀，成為海外傳播的“網紅”打卡地。
Reporter: Zhang Haiyu
Correspondents: Xu Mingyi, Wu Ligao, Hua Jianping
Translators: Mei Jie, Huang Dawang
Proofreaders: Zhou Shiyi, Zhang Dongjing, Jason Mowbray