In his poem The Song of the Land of China, Chilean poet and Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda (1904-73) wrote: "The land of China, I wish to speak to you, only in the language of land, only in the free language of paddy, only in the crimson language of flame …"

The passion mixed with a deep sentiment underlying the lines of Neruda has touched the hearts of the people in the country, and these days, members of different social sectors are "speaking" to their homeland by endeavoring in the extensive fields under the banner of "Beautiful China".

Stories of these peoples of tenacity and creative powers are shared at Songs of the Earth, a survey exhibition at the China Millennium Monument through April 20 in Beijing. It gathers over 100 cases from across the country showing concrete efforts in social reforms and rural rejuvenation, jointly made by people from academic and scientific circles, enterprises, governmental bodies, the countryside and art communities.

The exhibition is mounted by the Research Institute of Better China Initiative of China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, which was founded three years ago and investigates on the organizations and individuals dedicated to social reforms with all means.

Examples at the exhibition include rural organizations which help villagers protect the long-standing low-carbon way of life and production while finding new ways of development, teams who have designed small-scale public spaces for those living in the old urban communities, and art troupes that integrate the immersive theater experience with the preservation of historic relics and cultural heritage.

Gao Shiming, dean of China Academy of Art, says these cases have been examined because they show the power of creativity when being used in the realities, and the methods being put into practice are sustainable and responsible to fully motivate the locals.

"Every case, whether it addresses urban renewal or rural rejuvenation, ecological restoration or heritage protection, public art education or community building, is a mirror of the endeavoring people who are intelligent, wise and of insight, and who are fully committed to realizing their ideals on this land."