“16,000 visitors, 7,941 cups.” On the evening of May 3rd, inside the famed “Deep Blue Project” café in Hongmiao Village, Meixi Town, Anji County, the owner, Cheng Shuoqin, was checking the number of customers and cups of coffee sold that day. At that moment, 37 coffee machines were still frothing coffee, while 50 baristas were busy at work.

“Most urban coffee shops may not even achieve such a scale, which can be considered a miracle,” commented Yang Ji, associate professor from the School of Cultural Creativity and Management at Zhejiang Media College.

In the rural areas of Huzhou, such miracles continue to unfold. Anji alone boasts over 300 “village cafes”, each with its own unique characteristics, attracting a huge influx of visitors. Looking across Zhejiang and even the whole country, this phenomenon is not common. “Village cafes”have become internet sensations, but what is the underlying foundation? Recently, reporters visited three cafes to explore the distinctive aroma of rural coffee.　　

Currently, Huzhou is leading the province in achieving full coverage in three areas: provincial demonstration county for beautiful rural areas, provincial new era beautiful rural areas, and city-level beautiful rural areas. The urban-rural gap is continuously narrowing: the integration ratio of urban and rural public transportation in Huzhou has reached 100%, allowing villagers to take buses right at the village entrance; 95% of town or township hospitals have met national basic standards, ensuring availability of medical services within the town; 142 schools have formed teaching communities, covering over 65% of schools in towns and townships, with urban teachers going to rural areas to teach.

Nourished by rural culture, “village cafes” have gained strong vitality. In Huzhou, “village cafes” are harmoniouslycoexisting with and complementing cultural auditoriums, rural museums, homestays, etc., creating a pure land to protect local rural culture. Statistics show that currently, Huzhou has 690 rural cultural halls, 100-plus rural museums, along with emerging art galleries, calligraphy museums, etc. The cultural needs of young people to “visit an exhibition once a month” are being met, allowing more rural cultural treasures to be developed, utilized, and promoted.