12.A Village of Long Life（260）

Lesson 12  A Village of Long Life

The village of Tao Yuan is located at the base of a mountain, far from big cities.

It's famous for having a lot of elderly people.

Out of a population of 3,020, twenty residents have lived to be over a hundred years old.

The villagers lead simple lives with little focus on money and competition.

They eat food they grow themselves and drink natural mineral spring water from the mountain.

Almost everyone works in the fields every day.

They're kind to one another, and it's rare for arguments to happen in the village.

Because newspapers and TV often talk about the village, people visit to learn the secret to a long life.

These visitors buy vegetables and grains from the locals.

The local government has turned the village into a tourist spot.

A large company has invested in building a facility near the village to bottle the mineral spring water.

Many families have opened restaurants in their homes for tourists.

While visitors come from far away to eat the villagers' home-cooked meals, the locals’ diets have started to change.

Kids are now enjoying soft drinks like cola, and fast food has become popular in the village.

Many villagers no longer work on their land.

They've started to compete with each other, and their relationships aren't as strong as before.

In fact, as they've gained weight, their life expectancy has begun to drop.

The number of villagers living past a hundred years old has decreased.

Perhaps this is the cost of becoming modern.