Life among the birds

Wu Zhou (center in the front row)and his team members from Shared Harvest Beijing. [Photo provided to China Daily]

A car accident lands a prominent dentist a new life as an organic poultry producer with greater agricultural ambitions to help those who hauled him from the wreckage. Fan Zhen reports.

People thought Wu Zhou was dead.

They were right-in a way.

The former dentist-a rising star in his field-says he was reborn a new man after his car spun down a cliff, prompting him to spend two years studying under a monk and living with eight isolated households in the mountains.

In this second life, he swapped caring for healthy teeth for caring for healthy chickens.

The funky posters, graffiti and bohemian tapestries and bedding in Wu Zhou's suburban Beijing dwelling make it seem more like a hipster's hangout than a henhouse.

But Wu explains farmwork can be cool. And fun.

"People tend to stereotype farming as boring and tiring," Wu says.

"But it really depends on how you do it."

As the driving force behind the community-supported agriculture group Shared Harvest Beijing, Wu not only cares for 4,500 free-range chickens but also captures on camera every interesting moment of their daily work. He posts the photos on social media for more than 21,000 followers curious about young people who return to villages.

"I don't have deep feelings for the land like the others," he says.

"I just want to do something for the elderly villagers. They remind me of those who saved my life."