Joe Tougas writes: On International Workers’ Day, 2009, after living in Beijing for five months without leaving the city, I finally made it into the country. I traveled with a British national and three Chinese folks to a small village about four hours northeast of Beijing, called Hong Xing Cun, or Red Star.

Many questions I had about socialism, Maoism, capitalism, global warming, independence from the government, and the working class in China were answered to a much greater degree in my mind. We hiked through a valley along the edge of a river for several hours before arriving at a village that had been in this valley long since before World War II. Perhaps it had even been there for a thousand years. Who knows?

During our stay, it became apparent this place had survived both social and geological upheaval over time. In spite of it all, the descendants of past people living on this land are still there, still engaging in the same socialist agricultural lifestyle—with a few exceptions like solar power and cell phones. The story begins when we wander into a village of no more than 100 people after hiking in the heat and humidity for almost twenty kilometers. We were hot, tired, and hungry. Through the translations of our bilingual Chinese friends, we were able to learn that one house in the village provides accommodations for travelers, such as a room to sleep in, food, a shower, etc.

Almost immediately, we began friendly exchanges about politics, history, and the local culture. Many of these exchanges were with an old farmer who would impart much knowledge before we left his little valley.

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