Professor Yu says China's expansive internet infrastructure plays a key role in driving the trend. "Internet connection is everywhere. The internet connectivity in the small villages is no different to Beijing." And this had allowed young people to both share their lives and earn an income using digital media, Professor Yu says.

"The old kind of rural lives are limited to farming or herding, but digital media has created new opportunities," Mr Chen says. "For example, what I'm doing helped the farmers to sell their products and brought more attention to the village." "Our town has become quite commercialised now," Ms Wang adds. "There is a mixture of local and outsiders' shops. A mixture of old and new things."