Inside a Thousand-Year-Old Village in China: Shen’ao and Eight Blessings Inn I S4 E8

Описание: Shen’ao Village sits just outside Hangzhou, in China’s Zhejiang province. This is where Amelia met JoAnn Leung.

JoAnn left city life behind and restored a 240-year-old courtyard house here, turning it into Eight Blessings Inn. It isn’t built around amenities or schedules. It’s built around meals, conversation, and the belief that time spent together still matters.

In this episode, Amelia and JoAnn talk about following a calling later in life, starting over without certainty, and taking responsibility for a place and the people who move through it. JoAnn doesn’t frame her story as reinvention. It’s simply the life she chose—and the one she continues to tend to every day.

Shen’ao isn’t preserved. It’s lived in. Craftsmen open their workshops. Neighbors stop to talk. An ancient drainage system still works beneath the stone paths. The village does what it has always done.
This episode isn’t about travel as escape. It’s about paying attention—to where you are, to the people around you, and to the kind of life you’re building.

🎥 This video includes photos and clips from Shen’ao Village and Eight Blessings Inn.

Topics Covered
Life inside Shen’ao Village, a thousand-year-old working community
Following a calling later in life
Restoring a 240-year-old courtyard house
Building Eight Blessings Inn around meals and conversation
Responsibility to place and people
Choosing attention over pace

Keywords
Shen’ao Village, Shenao Village, Hangzhou China, Zhejiang China, Zhejiang Province, Eight Blessings Inn, historic villages in China, slow travel, cultural travel, heritage travel, China bed and breakfast

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Sponsor
This episode is sponsored by China Eastern Airlines, who supported Amelia’s travel for this journey. You can learn more about their routes and destinations here: https://us.ceair.com/en/

Photos from this journey are shared at @AmeliaOldOfficial, with additional details at AmeliaOld.com.