Rural coffee retreats: Village cafes are brewing new getaways in China

China's rural cafe boom is fuelled by a growing interest in exploring the countryside to ease the tensions of urban living. - Photos:123rf

On a crisp Sunday morning, Zheng Shiying drove 130km to a village on the outskirts of Beijing, not for a hike or a hot spring, but for a cup of coffee.

It took Zheng over three hours to reach the cafe. Housed in a crumbling stone building that looks untouched by time, it was already packed with weekend visitors by the time Zheng arrived, and finding a seat was a bit of a challenge.