I was born and raised in a city and had little exposure to rural life, apart from what I learned from textbooks and a few social practice activities during college.

So when I began covering agriculture and rural affairs as a reporter several years ago, it was often difficult to ask incisive interview questions or produce in-depth stories without sufficient first-hand knowledge. Grain output, crop varieties, poverty alleviation and rural vitalization were largely abstract terms to me — figures and definitions that appeared repeatedly in policy documents, major conferences and, at times, in my own articles.

Only after I began traveling to China's rural areas for reporting in recent years did those concepts gradually take on real meaning. Standing in the fields, observing production on the ground and talking with farmers turned policy language into lived experience.

Last year marked a turning point. I visited rural areas in more than a dozen cities nationwide, including regions that were once home to some of China's poorest counties. Scenes I had previously described based on online materials and interview quotations unfolded vividly before my eyes.

In Hebei province, China Agricultural University's science and technology backyard program has helped African students develop practical solutions to plant protection challenges that can be applied in their home countries. In Yiliang county, Yunnan province, the growing of Gastrodia elata — an orchidlike plant used in traditional Chinese medicine — has become a pillar industry, reshaping the local economy. In Qianjiang, Hubei province, the co-cultivation of rice and crayfish has ensured stable harvests while protecting the ecosystem and increasing farmers' incomes.

Along the way, I met many remarkable people whose work forms the backbone of rural China.

Women picking roses in the rain in Yunnan are a vital link in the flower cake industry. New-generation farmers in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region have returned to their hometowns to run homestays and promote local tourism. Along the coast of Fujian province, abalone farmers now benefit from smart aquaculture systems that can be monitored and operated through smartphones.

At the same time, these journeys have also revealed problems that remain deeply rooted in many rural areas. In parts of northern China, winter heating costs have been a heavy burden on rural households.

Talent loss continues as young people leave villages for job opportunities in cities, weakening local development capacity. Education and healthcare resources remain unevenly distributed. In a few places, outdated rural rituals are increasing financial and social pressure on villagers.

Among these encounters, some lasted only moments, others involved brief conversations, and a few developed into in-depth exchanges. Together, they allowed me to compile a living and detailed picture of rural life that includes both progress and challenges.

In that picture, every one of them matters. They are not abstract "cases" or "models", but real people whose daily work reflects China's efforts to become an agricultural powerhouse.

However, my limited experiences through organized reporting trips are far from sufficient to fully understand agriculture and rural affairs. Some experts I have interviewed have devoted decades to a single issue — whether land reform or improving the traits of a particular crop — and are still searching for answers.

I can only hope that my work as a reporter will allow me to keep exploring this field and to help more people see and understand the stories unfolding across China's vast rural landscape.

Contact the writer at zhaoyimeng@chinadaily.com.cn