Fluent in Chinese, Dmitry Doronin, a doctoral student from Russia, is keen to share his experience in rural villages in east China's Zhejiang province with his 1.4 million followers online.

Having settled in the countryside since last August, the 32-year-old has created hundreds of video clips that record the leisurely rural lifestyle in Hengzhang village, Songyang county, Lishui city.

"The rice is grown in the terraced fields together with fish, which helps minimize pest damage and thus contributes to increased rice yield," said Dmitry while introducing local agricultural products on the popular Chinese short-video platform Douyin.

Apart from filming videos, Dmitry also enjoys working with farmers in the fields, doing activities such as planting and harvesting vegetables, feeding buffalo and reaping rice.

Dmitry said living in rural areas offers him unique and charming experiences, quite different from the hustle and bustle of big cities such as Shanghai where he studies.

"To our surprise, the young Russian not only knows how to cook Chinese food but interested in working in the fields," said 76-year-old villager Bao Mingyue.

Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the sales of local agricultural products had dropped significantly, so Dmitry volunteered to promote the products in his videos.

In a few months, 10,000 kg of oranges, 4,000 kg of dried sweet potatoes and 300 kg of honey had been sold thanks to Dmitry's help.

"After his arrival and benefiting from his live streaming, it seems that more and more tourists have come to visit our village," said 72-year-old Pan Xiannv who is delighted to see the positive changes in her hometown.

"Thanks to your videos, I learned how beautiful the countryside life can be," said a comment under Dmitry's post.

"In the countryside, you can immerse yourself in the traditional way of life and understand this country better," Dmitry said.

According to him, the impressions of China among some Russians are still outdated despite the fact that China has progressed in leaps and bounds.

"I would like to become a people-to-people envoy of friendship between the two countries, using the help of the Internet," he added.

Dmitry has been living in China for over seven years. After seeing how rapidly rural areas of China have developed, he plans to stay in the countryside after completing his doctorate degree.

"Every village in China is unique in its own way, and there is a lot to explore," he said.