Exploring the urban-rural nexus: the impact of Gen Z’s involvement in rural development

Abstract

In recent years, Chinese Generation Z (Gen Z) youth have expressed a growing interest in rural activities, driven by digital opportunities, lifestyle experimentation, and a sense of cultural nostalgia. Although it is not a mass movement yet, this change indicates changing desires and platform-mediated rural imaginaries. This study focuses on the way their social identity and online recognition constitute selective exposure to rural practices, which leads to cultural hybridization and perception formation on the local level. Based on a qualitative design, semi-structured interviews with 38 interviewees (more than 2700min of recordings, 216,000 words of transcripts) and online ethnography in WeChat, Weibo, and Douyin were used. Thematic analysis revealed a Four-Stage Integration Process (entry, adaptation, deep involvement, contribution) by which the urban youth negotiated their place in rural settings. Results indicate that, besides emphasizing group identity, digital self-representation transforms the rural narratives and selective practices of the rural way of life, which lead to hybrid cultural products that the local communities perceive both negatively and positively. Connecting youth migration, their involvement in digital technologies, and rural transformation, the study introduces novel knowledge about how Gen Z is bringing cultural and social renewal in modern rural China.