YINCHUAN, April 17 (Xinhua) -- In the sunbaked hills of Xihaigu, located in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, once labeled "uninhabitable" by United Nations experts, Ma Liang stood in a pumpkin field with his hands resting on a wooden lectern speckled with soil.

His white shirt and crisp suit stood in stark contrast to the rustic fruits laid before him -- a visual oxymoron that perfectly encapsulates his unique brand of storytelling.

"As Duke of Cibit, today, I'd like to give you a grand presentation of our cibitish specialty, highland baby pumpkin," Ma announced in fluent English, then effortlessly switched to a thick northwestern dialect as he ushered a sun-weathered farm woman onto the stage to display her harvest. Then he narrated the growth story of the pumpkins, which he called "the children of the plateau."

The scene, absurd yet poetic, has drawn 17 million views on the social media platform Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.

"Could you write less about me and more about Xihaigu?" the 41-year-old asked during an interview. This self-effacing plea encapsulates his persona: a man who reinvented himself as the "Duke of Cibit," a title he coined to merge his ancestral roots with European blue bloods. The name "Cibit" cleverly mirrors the local dialect's pronunciation of "xibei," meaning "northwest."

Ma is a bilingual raconteur who masterfully blends the polished narration of British-style documentaries with the earthy humor of China's northwestern countryside. His some 200,000 Douyin followers know him as "Duke Snow Ma" in Chinese.

To him, the name Snow is never merely a casual moniker but a homage to an enduring legacy. Born to an English-teacher father in Tongxin County, Ma inherited both a fascination with language and a sense of historical pride. His hometown bears a profound historical weight. It was here, in what was then Yuwang County, that American journalist Edgar Snow gathered material for the classic "Red Star Over China" in the 1930s.

When asked why he chose to introduce the loess plateau landscapes and the country life in English, Ma simply said, "English? Just a tool I'm good at."

Ma majored in English and graduated from Xi'an International Studies University in 2009. In the years that followed, he took on a variety of jobs, participated in cultural exchanges, and traveled extensively. Eventually, he decided to return to Xihaigu to launch a new venture with his friend Ma Haodong, a former documentary film director.

"After over a decade of studying, working and living in cities, I made a life-altering pivot by turning my compass toward the countryside," Ma said during his appearance on the Spring Festival web gala this January hosted by China Media Group. "That's where I've truly found my new horizon."

Ma's camera became a bridge. In 2023, he left behind city life to document Xiji County, the heart of Xihaigu. His early videos -- short clips capturing snow-blanketed villages and the shifting perspectives of local women -- quickly struck a chord, earning him 10,000 followers within weeks.

Ma champions emotional resonance over viral formulas. While most creators chase algorithms, he crafts his videos as deliberate "visual poetry," celebrating the raw authenticity of rural life to build authentic connections with his audience.

Yet algorithms have their merits. Platform metrics place Ma's content in the top 1 percent of creators for production quality. Every frame carries a professional sheen, from his distinctive focus on rural life and cinematic composition to thoughtfully curated soundtracks and his signature bilingual voice-overs.

In recent years, the rise of short videos has significantly boosted rural economic and cultural tourism in China. According to Douyin, the platform saw 1.09 billion new rural-themed posts in 2023, generating nearly 2.8 trillion views.

Some might see Ma's works as pastoral romanticism, yet his lens reveals grit alongside beauty. He filmed cracked hands kneading dough, narrating, "The hot linseed oil always fries a Northwesterner into a wrinkled mess, but for the sweetness wrapped in the wrinkles, you need to feel it yourself to get the very taste." His hybrid language -- Oxford diction peppered with Ningxia dialect -- has startled viewers.

Facing the verdant Liupan Mountains, he murmured, "In the wilderness of the East, a great mountain wears a cover of clouds. In the cover hides the wedding bed made of pine waves."

Ma believes that the power of short videos lies in emotional resonance, and what he channels is the raw soul of rural China. "The visceral longing for roots? Nowhere in Ningxia runs deeper than Xihaigu's villages," he said.

When his short videos were shared on Instagram with the caption "Rural Returnee Tries To Put Hometown on the Map With English Videos," the posts garnered enthusiastic engagement from global viewers.

Ma's Duke persona strikes a chord at a time when China is aiming for substantial advances in rural revitalization and a new stage of modernization in agriculture and rural areas. His innovative storytelling even inspired a tourism bureau official from northeastern China to promote local farm produce in a similar fashion.

Ma felt heartened to see others embracing his creative approach and making it their own. "Every region could have its own rural ambassadors," he said.

Despite his internet fame, Ma remains grounded, still navigating the challenging ascent of entrepreneurship. When discussing future plans, he reveals a dual focus: continuing to produce premium content while also scouting higher-quality local agricultural products, and more importantly, developing tailored sales and logistics solutions for them.

"We all want the best for our hometowns, and to contribute in our own way," he said, adding that what he's been doing is just simple acts rooted in genuine love for where he comes from. ■