In recent years, the booming automobile industry has allowed more Xi'an residents to visit the suburbs, giving rise to nongjiale - that is, farmers offering food and lodging to urban visitors.

We found Shangwang village at the northern foot of the Qinling mountain range. The settlement didn't look appealing, with a fake tree installed at the entrance and newly built brick houses lining the main street.

My friend finally stopped at a courtyard in a side lane, with a swing dangling in the doorway. The host, a lanky and shrewd man, greeted us like old friends. One bite of potato chips fried with pepper and vinegar completely changed my first impressions of the place.

It's hard to believe that for a lavish meal of a dozen courses, each person only pays 15 yuan ($2.20), with portions for children costing half of that. And it costs merely 45 yuan to spend a night in one of the two-story building's 20 simply furnished rooms - three meals included.

Zhao Yongqian, 42, says he was one of 10 farmers in the village to venture into the nongjiale business about six years ago. Actually, he had to quit a lucrative job in the import-export sector to return to the countryside.