Introduction

Rural rejuvenation constitutes a top priority in current Chinese governmental policies. Within the overarching rural rejuvenation agenda, talent renewal is especially critical. Retaining high-caliber talents in rural areas is crucial, but attracting outstanding talents from broader society to relocate to the countryside could further boost the intrinsic development capacity of agriculture and rural regions. Against this backdrop, the emergent phenomenon of middle-class reverse urbanization has become a pivotal talent pillar buttressing rural rejuvenation. As indicated by data from the Seventh National Population Census, Nanjing’s urbanization rate has reached 86.8%, far exceeding the benchmark for reverse urbanization (Nanjing Municipal Bureau of Statistics, 2021). The rural revitalization drive has provided robust momentum for reverse urbanization. Since the reform and opening up, the urban–rural gap in China has gone through a narrowing–expanding–narrowing trajectory. The implementation of national poverty alleviation and rural revitalization strategies has ultimately narrowed the urban–rural gap, balancing public satisfaction with living environments and providing the necessary material conditions for urban inhabitants to become new villagers (Fang et al., 2022; Sheng, 2011). The progressively enhanced rural infrastructure has magnified the attractiveness of rural life for diverse talents and fulfilled the fundamental needs of new talents relocating to the countryside. As a result, increasing numbers of talents have chosen to return to the countryside for employment, entrepreneurship, production, living, and leisure. Meanwhile, the production modes, values, and cultural customs of these new groups have collided and merged with native rural spaces to varying extents, testing the bearing capacity of rural communities. The emergence of these new groups has also raised concerns about the efficiency and equity of development between urban and rural areas (Wan et al., 2022). Therefore, new villager groups present both opportunities and challenges for rural rejuvenation. Capitalizing on their potential and enabling them to become a strong force assisting rural revival remains an important task warranting efficacious solutions.

The rural Hukou (household registration) system in China represents the designated identity of farmers and reflects institutional constraints on agricultural development under the entrenched urban–rural dual structure (Yuan, 1994). With ongoing social progress, administrative restrictions on rural Hukou holders have gradually eased. However, persistent efforts across regulatory, socioeconomic, and cultural dimensions remain necessary to truly bridge urban–rural divides and achieve equitable rights for all Chinese citizens (Yuan, 1994). Although the Chinese government is taking incremental steps towards Hukou reform and relaxation of mobility controls, rural Hukou holders still face structural disadvantages in accessing quality education, healthcare, and other public services. Substantive reforms are still required to dismantle systemic urban–rural inequality and enable full socioeconomic participation for rural populations.

In examining the community integration of new villagers under the context of urban-to-rural migration in China, the rural Hukou system bears salient implications (Yuan, 1994): (1) The rural Hukou demarcates agricultural status, contrasting urban Hukou holders. Rural Hukou holders engage primarily in farming and face more constraints accessing education, healthcare, and other public resources. (2) The rural Hukou links villagers to collective land, representing use rights but not ownership. Rural households rely on agricultural production for livelihoods, while houses and land belong to rural collectives. (3) Despite recent Hukou reforms relaxing mobility restrictions, rural Hukou holders remain disadvantaged, with limited access to essential services. Significant progress is still required to achieve genuine urban–rural integration and equitable rights. While the Chinese government is working to reform the Hukou system, rural populations still confront scarce resources, institutional barriers, and socioeconomic exclusion.

For urban-to-rural migrants categorized as new villagers, China’s rural Hukou system poses certain integration constraints yet also furnishes avenues for localized integration (Yuan, 1994). While Hukou restrictions and lack of relevant rights impede new villagers’ assimilation, incremental Hukou reforms enable opportunities to obtain local residential registration and associated benefits over time. However, new villager integration remains a long-term process requiring mutual understanding and policy support. Fundamentally easing urban–rural disparities in status, resources, and opportunities is essential to engender harmonious community relationships between new and native villagers. Although the central government is progressing towards Hukou reform and relaxation, local implementation gaps persist. A holistic approach encompassing regulatory, socioeconomic, and cultural dimensions is imperative to genuinely bridge urban–rural divides, facilitating the integration and empowerment of new villagers in rural communities.

The migration of citizens to rural areas presents a fresh opportunity for the revitalization and development of rural areas. In this new era, the comprehensive rejuvenation of rural areas can effectively harness the influx of citizens to realize a dynamic exchange of multiple factors within the framework of urban–rural interaction. This exchange facilitates the two-way flow of talent and capital between urban and rural areas, ultimately fostering the coexistence and mutual prosperity of both. However, the arrival of citizens in rural communities brings about both positive changes in the daily lives of villagers and a host of associated challenges. It also disrupts and influences the traditional rural spatial dynamics. Consequently, this research centers on Xian Village in Nanjing City as a case study, specifically examining the impact of citizen migration on rural space. The aim is to fully activate the inherent motivation of citizens and villagers to participate in rural development, assist new residents in seamlessly integrating into the rural space, achieve the rejuvenation of rural spaces, and share valuable lessons from similar village constructions in related areas.

Literature review

In light of the unique focus of this study, we will undertake a comprehensive literature review that encompasses three key dimensions: the experiences of new villagers, community integration, and spatial restructuring.

New villagers

With evolving urban–rural transformations, research on migrant flows has seen a continuou redefinition of terminology and attributes (Lin and Xie, 2004). Since the 21st century, rural–urban movements have diversified beyond unidirectional rural–urban migration, expanding to include urban–rural and rural–rural flows. Currently, the conceptual definitions of the new villager aggregate can be roughly trifurcated. The initial taxonomy is predominated by migrant labor, positing new villagers refer to the assemblage predominated by migrant workers transmigrating from retrograde rustic environs to capacious cities and contiguous rustic vicinities (Zheng, 2012; Zhu and Cao, 2012; Jin and Zhou, 2014). The second taxonomy of new villagers is governed by the civic middle class, constituted by the employment, production, and subsistence of civic inhabitants emigrating to rural tracts, chiefly regulated by civic middle-class families (Chen, 2018; Zhang, 2018). The tertiary taxonomy is directed by entrepreneurship, consisting of capacious households repatriating from municipalities to rural expanses or rural émigrés to rural vicinities, family farm proprietors, and neoteric agricultural entrepreneurs (Feng et al., 2022). Apart from the supra-mentioned trifurcated definitions, with the dilation and evolution of new villager-affiliated research, progressively more scholars tend to re-synthesize and integrate the tripartite taxonomies of new villagers to constitute a unified conception. However, the “new villagers” are not highly similar internally and are full of heterogeneity (Mitchell, 2004). For instance, ‘new villagers’ should chiefly refer to aggregates from civic or non-autochthonal households who have labored, initiated commercial enterprises, or subsisted in local villages for over half a year, encompassing rustic outsourcing entrepreneurs, ecological agriculturists, artificers, scholars, freelancers, retirees, etc., as well as organizations and practitioners engaged in rustic public welfare.

The new rural immigrants, known as the counter-urbanization creative class, tend to cluster in economically developed rural areas which they view as platforms for career development and realizing ideal lifestyles (Feihan et al., 2021). These anti-urbanization residents can bring obvious benefits to rural tourism development. However, the more far-reaching impacts of these new rural settlers, also termed tree change migrants, include altering local landscapes through spatial development and prompting further changes in rural lifestyles that may cause discomfort to original residents (Shannon, 2018; Costello, 2007).

Community integration

According to Tennessee (1999), community, positioned between the individual and the state, is characterized by communal cultural awareness and interpersonal closeness. However, the concept of “community” has undergone significant transformation in the modern era (Oliver-Dee and Prud’homme, 2023), often described as “the great change” (Warren, 1978). One contributing factor to this transformation is the process of urbanization, which has led to population movements across geographical boundaries and substantial shifts in traditional community structures (Jones et al., 1972), a phenomenon referred to as “social atomization” by scholars (Tian, 2015; Vuscan and Muntean, 2023). Nevertheless, migration has also played a role in community integration. For instance, during the early 20th century in America, urban migrants contributed to the establishment of urban communities in cities like Detroit, Cleveland, and Chicago (Jones et al., 1972), while Palestinian migrants contributed to the internationalization of French communities (Fawadleh, 2022). Another contributing factor is the development of digital technology. In the digital age, individuals can rapidly navigate the process of “disembeddingness” and “re-embeddingness” through the utilization of digital tools (Lundgren and Johansson, 2017), prompting contemporary community scholars like Flora Cornelia and Flora Jan (2008) to argue that the “geographic” or “territorial” element of “community” has become almost irrelevant.

These phenomena provide a solid foundation for the advancement of community integration theory. Presently, scholarly discussions on community integration primarily focus on real-world applications. These discussions explore the relationship between personal well-being, professional identity, self-assessment, and community integration (Brehmer and Strauser, 2023), the mechanisms of corporate involvement in community public service provision (Hughes et al., 2018), and the promotion of community public values through subject embedding, relational interaction, and resource integration (Wu et al., 2023), among other topics. In the 21st century, with the disintegration of China’s unitary system and the collapse of the urban–rural dichotomy (Tian, 2015), the movement toward community integration has taken shape. Models such as Urban–Rural Integrated Communities (URIC) (Shi et al., 2022), AI communities (Lin et al., 2015), and other emerging approaches have gained popularity as viable options for community integration in China. However, the limited research on China’s local experiences lacks timeliness and fails to address the new phenomena observed in the country’s community integration process.

Spatial restructuring

In the 1970s, Western sociology witnessed the emergence of the “spatial turn,” with French sociologist Lefebvre being a prominent figure in this paradigm shift. Lefebvre integrated the concepts of “bodily space” and “social production” into the framework of social space, giving rise to the theory of “the production of space.” This theory not only allows for a reciprocal interpretation of the key concepts of “space” and “production,” but also incorporates social relationships into the dynamics of spatial interaction (Lefebvre, 2021). According to Lefebvre, space is not a tangible object but rather a realm populated by social relations, and it becomes a product of these relations (Lu, 2023). Specifically, space is both a consumable product and a mode of production. The essence of spatial production lies in constructing a space that aligns with one’s imagination while also accommodating a certain degree of conflict, with the social relations it encompasses continually reproduced within that space. Subsequent scholars have expanded on this notion by highlighting the existence of multiple structures within space, including social space (Crampton and Elden, 2007), cultural space (Watts et al., 2017), economic space (Busch and Bain, 2004), and ecological space (Ogneva-Himmelberger and Huang, 2015). They argue that effective spatial restructuring necessitates a delicate balance among these diverse structures.

As globalization deepens, the issue of spatial restructuring has gained international significance. In the context of the Belt and Road Initiative, spatial restructuring has implications for the sustainability of local Special Economic Zones (Jafarzadeh and Yang, 2023). In the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, spatial restructuring is regarded as a strategic initiative (Allegra and Maggor, 2021). Moreover, the globalization of trade has led to Brazilian environmental regulations impacting the growth, upgrading, and spatial restructuring of local industries (Oliveira et al., 2020). These studies provide a global perspective on spatial restructuring, focusing on macro-structures and exploring the overlapping dynamics of settlement space, economic space, social space, and cultural space. However, limited research has been conducted on China, particularly in rural areas. Additionally, if we solely examine the macro-structural level without effectively capturing the psychology and behaviors of individuals that constitute the larger whole, these studies will have inherent limitations.

In the above research on “city repatriates” and “new villager” groups, most scholars focus on the mechanism of talent return and talent replacement, and almost no scholars discuss the integration of new villagers into rural areas. In fact, from the current situation, the composition of new villager groups moving to rural areas is becoming more and more complex. The “new” of “new villagers” is no longer limited to the relocation of residence, but includes the “new” in roles, identities, and even cultural values. How new villagers bring these “new” elements to integrate into local communities is an issue worthy of attention. Therefore, from the perspective of Lefebvre’s theory of the production of space, combined with macro theory and real data, we analyze the current demands of new villager groups in rural space and the collisions with existing rural space, discuss the possibility of rural space restructuring, and provide reference strategies for the community integration of new villagers, the construction of talent return mechanisms in rural areas, and the promotion of rural talent revitalization.

Research area and method

Xian Village, located in the Jiangning district of Jiangsu province, covers an area of 0.91 square kilometers and boasts expansive tea plantations spanning over 2600 ha. This picturesque village, nestled within the hillsides at an elevation of approximately 200 m, benefits from an average of around 300 frost-free days each year. The cultivation of tea in Xian Village dates back to the 1970s, and the village has gained recognition for consistently producing tea of the highest quality, attributed to its exceptionally favorable natural environment.

In acknowledgment of its cultural and tourism potential, Xian Village was designated as one of the inaugural national key villages for rustic tourism and traditional villages in Jiangsu, earning the esteemed title of the “First Village of Jinling Tea Culture and Leisure Tourism”. Building upon this recognition, a collaborative effort between the Jiangning Transportation Construction Company, Jiangning Tourism Industry Company, and Paifang Village of Jiangning subdistrict led to the establishment of the Xian Village Jinling Tea Culture Ecological Tourism Village in 2013. A significant milestone was reached in 2020 when the local administration introduced a resident social work station, marking the inception of China’s first “social work village”. The primary role of the social workers stationed in Xian Village is to oversee local public affairs and facilitate conflict resolution within the community. This distinctive practice of embedding social workers within the village has emerged as one of its defining characteristics, further enhancing the village’s societal fabric and overall well-being.

The participants in our study consist of individuals who have migrated from urban areas to rural communities and have established stable housing investments and residences in these non-native rural areas. They do not consider themselves temporary or transient residents. This group generally exhibits higher levels of knowledge, cultural refinement, and technical proficiency. They tend to adopt a proactive and positive approach toward public affairs, actively contributing to the development of new social networks and public spaces within the community.

To capture the perspectives of this population, survey interviews were conducted with groups dispersed across 10 villages surrounding Xian Village. These villages include Xian Village, Feng Village, Zhang Village, Tao Village, Jin Village, Chimen, Yanzi Village, Xia Village, Xiaojia Village, and Wangchang Village. The individuals residing in these villages were previously engaged in urban living and employment. However, over time, their focus has shifted towards rural areas, resulting in the formation of a distinct community referred to as “new villagers” in this study.

This study adopted a qualitative approach comprising semi-structured sociological interviews, in-depth interviews, participant observation, symposiums, and other methods to accumulate rich primary data. Secondary data including archives were also collected and integrated with academic literature for collation, organization, and analysis. From 2021 to 2022, research team members conducted extensive village surveys spanning over 50 days, including multiple preliminary and follow-up investigations. During the survey process, through the introduction of local social workers, team members established contact with interview respondents. Interviews were usually conducted in the homes of respondents and gradually penetrated into their social circles. The main interview respondents participating in the survey had lived and worked in cities before. A total of 31 new villagers were interviewed, as detailed in Table 1. The methodology of this study is shown in Fig. 1.

Table 1 Basic information of interviewed rural-urban migrants.
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Fig. 1
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Methodology of this study.

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Characteristics and factors influencing the migration of new village residents

This study found that new village residents in Xian Village originated from diverse regions nationwide, exhibiting complexity and heterogeneity as a group. To enable a more comprehensive investigation, the researchers categorized new village residents into groups and developed descriptive classifications of their characteristics. Building on this, NVivo qualitative analysis software was utilized to examine the factors influencing new villagers’ migration, aiming to provide insights into the phenomenon of rural-to-urban migration in China.

Characteristics of the new village residents

Since around 2016, Xian Village has experienced a steady influx of urban residents from cities like Beijing, Nanjing, Nanchang, and Taipei settling in the area. These new residents typically lease existing or vacant houses in the village for limited periods of 10–20 years. By the end of 2022, over 100 new villagers resided in Xian Village, constituting 13% of the total village population, with numbers continuing to rise. Over half of the new residents arrived after the COVID-19 outbreak, accounting for approximately 52% of the total. Around 29% have inhabited the village for over 3 years. Local tourism development and infrastructure improvements primarily drew most immigrants, accelerated by the pandemic. As shown in Table 1, most new Xian Village residents possess substantial social, economic, and cultural capital. Their age distribution centers around 38–60 years old, with diverse occupations dominated by artists and entrepreneurs. Given the village’s industrial development patterns, these new residents’ varied skills and enterprise have injected vitality and yielded demographic dividends, making them an indispensable force in Xian Village’s revitalization.

To elucidate the characteristics of the new villager community, this study conducted a chart analysis (Fig. 2) to categorize new villagers based on three dimensions: property ownership, sensitivity to village development, and the impact of social networks on migration. This generated four categories: (1) Dependent entrepreneurs own rural property and actively participate in social networks and village affairs, with businesses highly contingent on local conditions like tourism. (2) Outward-oriented entrepreneurs hold rural assets but limit involvement in local activities, maintaining external customer bases. (3) Active new villagers without local property vigorously engage in social networks out of interest in public affairs, mostly retired. (4) Secluded new villagers neither own rural property nor participate in village social activities, leading isolated lives. These categories demonstrate how property ties, migration motivations, business orientations, and social habits intersect to produce diverse new villager subgroups, holding different implications for community integration.

Fig. 2
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Division of urban-rural migrant population.

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The driving factors of rural–urban migration

The push-pull theory is widely applied in examining rural–urban migration motivations, stipulating that population movements result from combined push factors from places of origin and pull factors drawing migrants to destinations (Stockdale and Catney, 2014). Consistent with this theory, new villagers’ migration is driven by push forces from cities and pull factors from rural areas. Whereas past anti-urbanization research concentrated on middle-aged and elderly migrants, this study purposefully sought younger interviewees for balance. Utilizing NVivo qualitative analysis software, the researchers categorized participatory observations and in-depth interviews to identify factors influencing new villager relocation, generating a coding framework (Table 2).

Table 2 Coding table for the attribution of new rural migrants’ settlement in villages.
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The coding results (Table 2) indicate the primary factors driving new villagers’ relocation to Xian Village.

Urban push factors

Work pressure

While generating abundant employment, certain urban jobs predicated on private ownership and wage labor may undermine human creativity and meaning (Yang and Xue, 2022). Even passionate workers can be burdened by fierce urban competition, reflecting the self-alienating effects of accelerating pace and compressed personal space in modern society. This compels individuals to seek more balanced habitats conducive to work–life equilibrium.

Environmental quality gap

Urban pollution provokes serious health concerns for immigrants. In contrast, Xian Village offers a favorable water and air environment with surrounding reservoirs and forests. Factors like distance from cities and localized agriculture centered on low-pollution specialty crops also contribute to suitable living conditions. For new villagers pursuing quality of life, reduced environmental risks make rural areas appealing.

Rural attraction

Improvement of rural infrastructure

Good infrastructure plays a crucial role in attracting new residents from urban areas to rural communities. It not only ensures a high quality of life but also facilitates their lifestyle choices. By connecting urban and rural areas through highways, people’s mobility is significantly expanded, which is an important characteristic of human progress and modernity (Bauman, 2002). Accessible infrastructure enables new rural residents to maintain contact with cities, ensuring their safety while living in the countryside. The convenience of delivery services also helps to sustain shopping habits developed in urban areas. Furthermore, robust infrastructure bridges the gap between urban and rural lifestyles, creating conditions for new residents to work in cities while enjoying rural living.

Inclusion of diverse humanities

After long-term development, rural areas are gradually becoming more open and inclusive. The collision between the local rural culture and the urban civilization brought by immigrants creates a unique appeal that cities find difficult to replicate. The traditional attire and farming practices of local villagers, along with the native cultural landscapes, are already highly attractive. Moreover, in rural areas, artistic expressions from urban migrants no longer need to consider the scrutiny of their peers, allowing for more freedom in experimentation and expression. The slower pace of life in rural areas makes it easier for new residents to engage in deeper communication, without the time constraints often found in urban settings. Local villagers are also influenced by the cultural diversity brought by newcomers, making the inclusive and diverse cultural features of Xian Village and its surroundings an important reason for the influx of new residents.

Ideals of rural life

In the long history of Chinese society, the people have created a splendid agricultural civilization, and the cultural genes of the nation are closely connected to the local rural areas. The local rural areas are an indispensable and important part of the romanticism of the Chinese nation. Many new villagers also have a deep affection for the countryside due to their background and political movements, and they are attracted to migrate to rural areas because of their expectations for the countryside and their demand for safe food. Researchers pointed out that, the greatest attraction for immigrants does not lie solely in how good the destination is, but rather in the immigrants’ imagination of the local area (Zeng et al., 2021). This idea of the local rural areas has a tangible impact on the choices made by new villagers.

Affordable labor costs

The low cost of renting in rural areas provides an attractive environment for individuals engaged in manual labor or freelancing who require a workspace. The affordability of housing in rural areas allows these individuals to work and start businesses without facing the intense competition found in urban areas. As the reputation and visibility of these rural communities grow, they can attract more freelancers and entrepreneurs.

Discussion

Henri Lefebvre, the French sociologist, originally proposed the theory of spatial production, stipulating that space is not merely a passive container but rather an active social product (Bao, 2003). To demonstrate spatial production processes, Lefebvre constructed the conceptual triad of spatial practice, representations of space, and representational spaces, which interact dialectically.

From the lens of the socio-spatial production relationship, space can be disaggregated into physical, mental, and social dimensions, corresponding to the triadic forms. Accordingly, new villager community integration represents a process of entering and reshaping rural space. Adapting Lefebvre’s spatial triad, this study examines new villager integration across four spatial dimensions: living space, production space, cultural space, and social space.

The physical dimension denotes the material carriers of space, including natural and built environments, aligned with spatial practice. The mental dimension signifies cognitive perceptions and experiences of space and mirrors representations of space. The social dimension reflects relational interactions involved in using, dividing, and constructing space, connected to representational spaces.

Transfer and allocation of residential space

China’s rapid urbanization experience shows that all social actions must ultimately take physical space as a basic condition. When physical space becomes an essential means of production and is gradually commodified through the market, physical space acquires multiple non-physical spatial concepts, gradually transforming from a purely physical space into a complex spatial carrier of social relations, social cognition, and social rights (Wu and Ding, 2022).

The first thing new villagers do when moving to rural areas is to obtain disposable physical space specifically reflected in ways such as leasing or purchasing land resources. According to actual survey data, disputes between new villagers and native residents in Xian Village over land resources were not uncommon. In the urban–rural dual system, the ownership of rural residential land belongs to the village collective, and individuals have no opportunity to legally purchase residential land. However, in practice, leasing and purchasing behaviors were common between new villagers and native villagers in Xian Village.

To safeguard their interests, new villagers in Xian Village usually invite local community workers, villagers, etc. to conduct transaction certification when leasing or purchasing land resources to avoid breaches of contract. However, such behavior was essentially still a credit transaction and could not truly obtain legal protection. For example, during an interview, a new villager (A) revealed to the researchers: “I leased the residential land from the native villagers for 30 years, but after renovation, the landlord maliciously raised the rent and even threatened to demolish part of the building to force me to pay the rent. In the end, I had to compromise” (Interview with new villager FJH, July 20, 2022).

It can be seen that the transfer and allocation of living space were not dominated by new villagers. The arrival of new villagers was based on a basic demand for living space. However, such demands could not always obtain concessions from the village. The above cases were not exceptional, whether in Xian Village or anywhere else with new villagers. Acts of exclusion against new villagers based on ‘land’ as capital were frequent.

The underlying logic causing this phenomenon was whether the original living space in rural areas had re-constructability and the degree to which villagers could accept reconstruction. Rural living space was often formed naturally over a long time through the village’s residential layout. Familiar relationships were an important carrier of collective memory and social identity. The hasty reconstruction of this space would inevitably bring loss and unwillingness to native villagers. Therefore, excluding outsider groups seemed to be an instinctive reaction of native villagers.

New villagers had to face dual pressures: meeting their basic living needs through obtaining living space while facing potential exclusion. This dilemma profoundly impacted new villagers’ objective well-being and sense of belonging after entering the village. At the same time, it added complexity to new villagers’ integration into rural society. Whether new villagers could integrate into rural areas depended on reconstructing rural space, reshaping rural spatial relations, and reaching a compromise and consensus with native villagers regarding space.

It is worth clarifying that this ‘instinct’ has also weakened or even gradually disappeared with the development of the times and the acceleration of urbanization. Leaving home to work is the norm for most young and even middle-aged people in modern Chinese villages. The rural living space vacated by these people ultimately became an opportunity for new villager groups to enter villages. This was not something that needed to cause ‘loss’. The transfer and redistribution of living space precisely brought new relational patterns to rural areas. The arrival of new villagers filled the ‘gap’ instead of tearing the village apart.

The rural living space is diverse and complex. Its transfer and reconstruction are not a zero-sum game between new villagers and native villagers. Native villagers obtain benefits from leasing and transferring residential land, and their living conditions have improved. At the same time, the arrival of new villagers promotes the development of rural public service facilities and cultural life, which also benefits native villagers. New villagers are both ‘outsiders’ and ‘insiders’ in rural areas. They maintain their urban identity and lifestyle preferences while integrating into rural life. Their role transformation profoundly impacts rural spatial relations. The interaction and mutual adaptation between new villagers and native villagers reshape rural space, making rural areas present openness and inclusiveness under the framework of urban–rural integration.

The separation and development of production space

The production space refers to the field where production factors and activities are combined. Most new rural migrants find it difficult to completely separate their lives from their production activities. Like the original villagers, new rural migrants often have their industries or workshops in the countryside. However, their production methods are different from those of the local villagers, creating a division between the two parties. This division is mainly reflected in several aspects:

In the field of agriculture, new rural residents engage in farming not only for profit or investment but also as a pursuit. They consider themselves as ‘farmers’ and hope to be respected as such. However, their planning and approach to agriculture may be different from that of local farmers (Interview with New Villagers MLS, August 21, 2022). For example, new rural residents may prioritize self-sufficiency, environmental preservation, and avoiding pollution, rather than solely focusing on maximizing yields (Wu et al., 2021). This concept may be difficult for local farmers to understand and accept. Many new rural residents involved in agriculture aim to promote the industrialization and branding of healthy agricultural products, as well as the development of modern agriculture (Interview with New Village Residents LHY, August 23, 2022). Through their investment in agricultural production and communication with local villagers, they gain acceptance from the community. However, their pursuit of agricultural ideals also creates a divide in production methods between them and the local villagers.

In the field of handicrafts, new villagers in Xian Village typically have their studios and possess a certain level of technical and cultural expertise. By engaging in production and providing subsequent services, they establish connections with the local community and contribute to the local economy, culture, and society. These individuals who practice handicrafts in Xian Village align with or complement the tea culture environment, as the industry itself carries symbolic cultural significance. Moreover, they actively participate in shaping the local cultural atmosphere by imparting skills and services related to their craft, integrating their technical, cultural, and capital resources with the development interests of local tourism and public welfare. While these handicrafts serve the local community and its residents, there is a cultural divide between the ‘elegance’ of traditional culture and the heterogeneity of Western culture reflected in some of the handicrafts brought by new villagers. This contrast creates a stark juxtaposition between the cultural expressions of the local villagers’ production and daily lives.

In the context of the service industry, the majority of services provided by new rural residents belong to the modern service sector, targeting urban residents and tourists. These services are mainly concentrated in cafes, homestays, and entertainment establishments. The integration of new rural residents into the local community is mainly reflected in economic activities. The modern service industry has attracted a large number of young tourists and has had an impact on the development concepts of local villagers. The dual development model of ‘radiational homestays + rural tourism’ lacks innovation and has high homogeneity, which limits the long-term development and upgrading potential of the village. The cultural consumption of the new rural residents, including differences in decoration style, hardware facilities, and service concepts, separates urban esthetics from rural areas and has become an abstract esthetic experience beyond intuitive beauty, forming an actual ‘separation’ (Swartz, 2012).

It can be seen that new villagers were closely integrated with the local economic and social development in their production and life, which was an essential basis for integrating into the local community. However, the cultural capital of new villagers was too dominant, separating them from local villagers and forming practical cultural exclusion of villagers. This non-structural cultural exclusion stemmed from the dominant urban culture represented by new villagers. It must be admitted that this mode of production did bring enormous benefits to Xian Village. Xian Village also needed to seek development through such urban culture. Therefore, the existence of divisions was a fact, as was the development of these divisions.

The cultural symbols brought by new villagers gave Xian Village an urban and modern impression, attracting more new villagers and other urban populations. The local cultural atmosphere gradually showed a trend of pluralism and openness. However, the differences in cultural cognition between new villagers and native villagers were still the primary obstacle to building trust and emotional connections between the two groups. The non-structural cultural exclusion between new and native villagers profoundly impacted the integration and sustainable development of Xian Village in the long run. Promoting cultural integration was essential for new villagers to integrate better into Xian Village and for urban and rural areas to achieve harmonious development. Cultural integration did not mean completely abandoning native cultural traditions and accepting urban culture. Still, it emphasized communication, understanding, tolerance, and compromise between different cultures to achieve harmony in differences.

The collision and fusion of cultural space

The spatial combination of rural social structures and the operational logic of urban communities are completely different. New villagers and original villagers exhibit differences in their lifestyles due to different living environments and experiences (Tian and Zhang, 2022). These differences can sometimes be resolved during the integration process, while others continue to clash. There are several areas where differences can be observed between new villagers and original villagers, including:

Living habits

Most new villagers had lived in cities before and were used to the living habits of urban communities, with a relatively strong sense of boundaries. In contrast, rural areas were based on a differential order familiar social relationship structure with generally weaker boundary needs. New villager C once said, ‘They (native villagers) often chat with me about gossip about other villagers, but I’m not interested in these things at all. I just feel disturbed.’ (Interview with new villager TGX, June 21, 2022). ‘It is worth mentioning that native villagers also complained that ‘new villagers don’t understand politeness at all. They only care about their own business' (Interview with native villager QWM, October 8, 2022). It can be seen that both parties felt that each other’s habits were incomprehensible. This cultural divide negatively impacted communication between the two parties. New villagers were used to frequent exchanges with friends and interacting based more on common interests and values. Native villagers were accustomed to dealing with people based on familiarity and kinship within established social relations in the village. When interacting, new villagers focused more on self, while native villagers paid more attention to group harmony and ‘face’. This difference in communication methods and interactive habits confused and disturbed both parties to some extent. Overcoming differences in living habits and communication methods required both parties to show understanding, tolerance, and a willingness to learn from each other. But in reality, prejudice and bias still existed, and adaptation was challenging. Promoting interaction and cultural integration between groups at the community level was essential. Only by strengthening mutual understanding and shaping common values could the gap in living habits between new and native villagers be gradually narrowed, and harmonious community relations built.

Entertainment methods

Entertainment was often built on a material foundation. Compared with the relatively leisurely and decent livelihood of new villagers, native villagers often had to work hard for a living, so they had much less leisure time. Related to their cultural cultivation, new villagers’ entertainment tended to be more ‘elegant’ and ‘quiet’. During interviews with new villagers, soft music and the fragrance of tea often accompanied the process. Differences in entertainment methods reflected the differences in livelihood factors, life pressures, and other aspects behind new villagers and native villagers. New villagers had higher cultural qualities and economic levels, so their entertainment tended to be more diversified. They enjoyed cultural and intellectual hobbies such as reading, photography, and calligraphy in their leisure time. They also traveled and vacationed frequently. In contrast, most native villagers continued to center their lives on agricultural production due to economic pressures. Their entertainment remained simple, focusing on chatting, drinking, mahjong, and farming. The differences in entertainment further strengthened the cultural divide between the two groups and hindered emotional communication and trust building. However, entertainment could also promote integration as an essential means of cultural communication. The traditional culture pursued by new villagers, such as tea culture and calligraphy, also appealed to some native villagers. New villagers’ travel and vacations brought back forms of entertainment from outside for native villagers to experience. These interactions built emotional connections through different activities and experiences, effectively promoting cultural integration.

Value concepts

Native villagers were influenced by village culture and held some views that new villagers could not understand. For example, according to a case learned from a local people’s mediator, the reason for the dispute between new villagers and local villagers was that neighbors believed the new villager’s house was higher than theirs, which was inauspicious. ‘In terms of feng shui, being higher or lower are enormous contradictions.’ Some villagers believed that such ‘feng shui cultural customs’ were a matter of course (Interview with native villager QWM, October 8, 2022). Relying on land, they held the right to interpret native culture and ‘discriminated’ against new villagers. In interviews, new villagers were very angry about this issue. They believed that the lease contract was a matter of negotiation between the two parties, and as neighbors, they had no right to interfere with the new villagers’ housing renovation. Accustomed to urban civilization, new villagers felt strongly culturally conflicted and uncomfortable when encountering native customs, and cultural exclusion occurred in reality, regardless of the subjective intentions of the villagers. The conflict in values between new and native villagers was challenging to reconcile in the short term. New villagers advocated the liberation of thought, equality, and the rule of law, while native villagers adhered to traditional values centered on clan, patriarchal systems, and filial piety. The dispute over feng shui reflected the differences in values and ways of thinking between the two groups. Native villagers regarded feng shui as an indisputable traditional culture, even using it to set restrictions on new villagers, who strongly opposed superstitious ideas and demanded equal rights.

The exclusion and inclusion of social space

As the new villager group expanded, the new villagers gradually developed a non-structural social exclusion of the original villagers. The new villagers’ social network adopted WeChat groups as an online medium to form a new social network parallel to the original village social network. This new social network consisted of many small relational networks, primarily of three types: (1) Geography-based. New villagers from the same hometown or region tended to form relational networks. Through regular exchanges and interactions, new villagers established emotional connections and mutual trust, reinforcing the cohesion of these networks. (2) Based on previous occupational or interest ties. New villagers who previously worked in the same industry or unit, or who shared similar hobbies and interests, were more inclined to connect. These connections evolved into new social relations in the village. (3) A combination of the above two relational networks. Some new villagers joined multiple relational networks simultaneously, linking networks of different types (Fig. 2). A new villager might join various relational networks, eventually forming a comprehensive immigrant social network through collective activities with other new villagers.

The locality is essential for forming small relationship networks, but it does not play a decisive role. This is related to the category of new villagers. Immigrants who come to rural areas for retirement and old-age care participate more actively and enthusiastically in social activities. Dependent new villagers who have opened homestays and other industries will have more business to deal with. But because their businesses depend on local development and social networks, they also tend to participate more actively in social activities. New villagers who come here for seclusion and isolation participate more passively in relationship networks (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3
figure 3

Schematic diagram of the social network.

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The most representative social network based on former occupational social relations or interest relationships is the publishing and media social network. Most members of this small social network are former employees of publishing groups. Though they were not necessarily colleagues before, similar experiences have brought them together. They live apart but stay in close contact. The most representative relationship network based on two types of relationships is the artist relationship network. After an art district dissolved, several artists came to live and work in Xian Village. They later contacted other artists in Xian Village, gradually forming an artist social network. Because artists are used to working in clusters, this network has the attribute of a locality-based relationship network. At the same time, with the participation of other more distant artists and characteristics of networks based on former occupational social relations or interest relationships, it has become a relationship network based on two types.

New villagers’ participation in social activities and the formation of relationship networks in rural areas were closely related to their purpose of coming to the countryside, length of stay, and dependence on local resources. Those who came for long-term residence, retirement, or depended heavily on local resources showed greater enthusiasm for participating in village social activities and more actively built social relationships. In contrast, those who came for seclusion and required fewer local resources were less motivated to participate in local social activities and build close relationships. The social networks formed by new villagers, whether based more on locality, occupation, or interests, effectively promoted communication between new and native villagers. They built emotional connections and shaped common interests between groups, overcoming cultural divides and differences to a certain extent. Overall, new villagers’ active participation in rural social activities and localized social networks benefited their integration into village life.

From the description of the social network structure, it was not difficult to see that the new villagers’ social network had a certain degree of closure. New villagers needed certain characteristics to integrate into different relational networks. However, for new villagers, such closure was not absolute. To integrate into relational networks, immigrants needed only their urban citizenship and cultural and economic capital. Although there was a certain degree of interaction between individual original villagers and new villagers, almost no villagers entered the new villagers’ social network. In contrast, a few immigrants successfully embedded themselves in the local social network. Therefore, based on their superior economic, cultural, and social relations, new villagers constructed a new social network that was highly exclusive to the original villagers. There were many factors behind such exclusion, e.g., means of production, cultural capital, and especially differences in life experiences, lifestyles, and self-identification. It was challenging for new villagers and original villagers to be fully compatible socially.

Conclusion

Building on domestic and foreign research findings and based on field interview materials, this study explored the new villager group of the middle class returning to rural areas against the backdrop of counter-urbanization and rural revitalization, using push-pull theory and social integration theory. The research found that in the traditional theory of social exclusion, new villagers were easily subjected to structural exclusion from native community residents. Such exclusion stemmed from monopolistic advantages in the economy and political power. However, new villagers not only had a stronger dominant position over villagers economically and politically but also had substantial exclusionary powers over native residents culturally and in terms of choice opportunities.

Due to the new villagers’ potential ‘class superiority’, the possibility of experiencing structural social exclusion was lower. However, without opportunities for a common goal of integration, the new villager group would form a community close to the native community and open to urban society, becoming an ‘embedded’ and ‘mechanical group’. Therefore, new villager community integration would face considerable possibilities of non-structural social exclusion. Such dilemmas were closely related to the modern cultural cultivation, moral views of the new villagers themselves, and the traditional nature of the village. In particular, the cultural symbols of modernity brought into the village by the new villagers and the outbreak of disputes with traditional village concepts would be unavoidable issues in the context of rural revitalization.

This would extend to deeper contradictions, such as the competition for the leadership and adjudication of communication, coordination, and decision-making channels between new and old villagers. In relatively ‘weak’ rural areas, the transfer of power was almost inevitable. However, in more prosperous regions, whether mechanisms and channels were sound would profoundly impact the development and future direction of the new villager group in the village. Judging from current research and reports, the housing situation of new villagers in rural areas was mostly related to the cultural service industry, and contradictions arose from rural styles and customs. Agriculture was temporarily not discussed due to its traditional nature. Overall, whether the dilemmas of new villager community integration could be properly resolved and whether common influencing factors and solution mechanisms could be found would directly affect the harmony of rural society and the future development of this group.

The implementation of policies aimed at revitalizing underutilized rural homesteads and dwellings has led to a growing trend of citizens engaging in urban-to-rural migration through the “moving to the countryside” action strategy. This phenomenon raises two crucial issues that warrant in-depth research. Firstly, it is essential to establish a robust system that safeguards the rights and interests of these new villagers. Achieving mutual development between urban and rural areas requires not only policy protection for citizens migrating to rural areas but also a careful balance of internal and external resources to effectively protect the rights and interests of the villagers (reference). Secondly, cultivating a sense of community within the village is of paramount importance. Fostering a strong sense of belonging and identity among new villagers is a fundamental prerequisite for their successful integration into the rural community. In the new era of rural development, nurturing a sense of community in village life can facilitate the harmonious integration of urban migrants and local villagers, leading to greater social stability and cohesion within rural areas (reference). These two areas of inquiry hold significant potential for advancing our understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with the migration of individuals from urban to rural areas.