Pioneers of Digital Rural Areas: The Exploration and Challenges of Nantan DAO

In March 2025, I visited Sanhe Village, Sanying Town, Fuyang City, Anhui Province (, originally Nantan Village ), for a field research that lasted one and a half months. During this period, I conducted in-depth interviews with 14 respondents, including core members of the Nantan DAO, local agricultural cooperative staff, and villagers. I also participated in the Nantan DAO rookie program, the daily affairs of the Nantan Agricultural Cooperative, and the Nantan Unrecognized DAO translation team. Although the time was short, I had many reflections. I witnessed the local partners' efforts to put the ideals of DAO into practice, and I also observed the numerous challenges faced by pioneers in the rural construction DAO field. These issues are not only unique but also reflect some common problems in the current development of DAOs.

Birth

The democratic gene of Nantang

In August 2024, Nantang DAO, a decentralized autonomous organization dedicated to rural construction, was officially established. Unlike the vast majority of DAOs in the world, all members of Nantang DAO live in the village, creating a situation where they stand in opposition to the original agricultural cooperative. Of course, this is a joke; the "headquarters" of Nantang DAO is actually located in the cooperative's courtyard, making it a situation of mutual existence. However, it must be said that introducing the concept of decentralized autonomous organizations into the fields is indeed a groundbreaking achievement in China.

You may be curious about what charm this village possesses to attract so many elements of Web3, and why the first rural DAO was born here. Why has it been jokingly referred to as "the Jerusalem of China's Web3"? In fact, behind the coincidence lies inevitability—this land's three decades of cultivated democratic genes and cultural accumulation are the deepest answers. From the well-known farmers' rights protection organizations to the first localized practice of the "Robert's Rules of Order", the seeds of democratic governance have long been sown here.

established Nantan DAO

Consciously organizing farmers and discussing matters using the "carrot and cabbage rules" is undoubtedly a valuable cultural gene of Nantang. However, so far, everything that has happened in the Nantang cooperative has not intersected with Web3 elements. When it comes to linking the cooperative with Web3, one person cannot be overlooked—Liu Bing. In 2011, Liu Bing偶然在网络上了解到南塘村民主实践的案例. With curiosity about the local "carrot and cabbage rules," he traveled alone to Nantang to become a volunteer. In this village, which is deeply connected to the land, they whimsically discussed contemporary issues such as "the Argentine workers' occupation movement, how blockchain technology can promote the emergence of decentralized economic systems, and how to promote the development of cooperatives." After achieving financial freedom, Liu Bing started to give back to Nantang, initially donating Ether directly to the Nantang cooperative and attempting to educate cooperative members about blockchain technology, digital wallets, and other new concepts, but the results were not ideal.

Through the connections made by Liu Bing, Gu Yi, and Wang Debin, after a deep conversation between Yang Yunbiao, the head of the cooperative in 2023, and Bai Yu, the founder of SeeDAO, both parties began to realize that the combination of Web3 and rural areas can not only attract more young talents and business resources but also bring some new possibilities to cooperatives trapped in debt crises.

In June 2024, in Shanghai, a "Ethereum Public Summer" event jointly initiated by LXDAO and ETHPanda is being vigorously organized, and a wonderful encounter spanning more than 700 kilometers is about to take place. With the introduction and funding from Liu Bing, partners from the Nantang Cooperative in Fuyang, Anhui, have stepped into the world of Web3 for the first time. On July 28, 2024, the first proposal of the Nantang DAO, written by Yu Xing, was released, marking the official start of this innovative organization aimed at promoting the integration of Web3 technology and rural governance; one month later, the establishment proposal of Nantang DAO was approved by LXDAO, marking the formal establishment of a deep cooperative relationship between Nantang DAO and LXDAO, while also establishing its status as an independent operating entity.

Assembly and Conflict

Gathering: Nantang DAO Seven Elders

"Creating connections while maintaining differences, nurturing hope amidst uncertainty."

With the support of Liu Bing's Web3 incentive program, the news quickly spread across various online DAO communities, and more partners arrived in Nantang, including Bi Bing, who later became a core member of the Nantang DAO. Thus, a rural DAO composed of seven initial members was formed. The "Seven Elders" come from diverse backgrounds; some are practitioners from other DAOs, some are Web3 programmers, some are graduate students, and others are local villagers born and raised in Nantang. Looking across China, it would have been hard to find such a grounded DAO team at that time.

Yu Xing is the first resident member of the Nantang DAO. Before meeting Liu Bing, this Web3 practitioner had already conducted in-depth research on innovative cases combining rural Japan and blockchain technology. He believes that DAOs are committed to building more equitable ownership relations, where co-creators participate in the ownership of the value distribution process of results. This similar idea is also reflected in the design of rural agricultural cooperatives, which is a deep tacit understanding at the level of institutional design.

Tiao is the second core member to arrive at Nantang after Yuxing. As an experienced Web3 developer, he is deeply attracted to the bottom-up organizational approach of DAO. From Tiao's perspective, the keywords of the "mycelium" design pattern are instability and entanglement. The logic of instability acknowledges emergence, multiplicity, and the dynamic influences of encountering ( rather than a linear growth and control logic ); entanglement means a symbiotic relationship with the surrounding environment, focusing on the differences and dependencies between each other during institutional design to better coexist.

Bibing is a seasoned developer in the Web3 domain. As his online name "xboring" suggests, his daily life is simple and regular. However, beneath this calm exterior lies a heart full of curiosity for emerging things—this exploration desire of "stillness leads to movement" has drawn him into the world of DAO. Growing up in the countryside, Bibing has always maintained a special attachment to his roots. When he encountered the unprecedented idea of "combining rural development with Web3," his inner passion was instantly ignited.

( Conflict: Two groups of people with different backgrounds

The collectivist culture of rural Chinese society, rooted in the communal traditions of agricultural communities, emphasizes group cooperation and common welfare. This culture is based on the moral constraint of "people are doing, and heaven is watching," and it achieves governance and maintains social order through collective norms. As Mr. Fei Xiaotong described, traditional beliefs such as the supervision of the Kitchen God ) and taboos ### regarding respect for grain, sexuality, and paper words ( constitute the norms for people's daily behavior in rural society. In contrast, the governance logic of DAO advocates for individual rationality and autonomous decision-making, constructing mechanisms of trust through the transparency and traceability of blockchain. When these two fundamentally different governance cultures and logics meet, conflict and contradiction are almost inevitable.

In early 2025, Nantang Agricultural Cooperative publicly launched the "Nantang Youth Internship Program", marking the third recruitment since the program started in March 2024. Unlike before, this time the learning content not only includes ecological agriculture and zero-pollution village construction, operation of the Earth Library, and community cultural development, but also prominently features learning the basic principles and tools of Web3, as well as participating in the Nantang DAO.

As time goes by, the conflicts among everyone have become increasingly irreconcilable, rationality has gradually been defeated by emotions, and discussions always evolve into endless quarrels. The Nantang DAO, which once united ideals, has come to a crossroads for the first time.

) The third option: Nan Tang does not know DAO

In the winter of 2024, when interns were turned away by the Nantang DAO for "lack of Web3 experience", Jiao, Yanren, Shuhui, and other cooperative members hit it off and decided to form a new DAO. They ironically named it — "Nantang Doesn't Know DAO" and built a new organizational space on Notion. Flipping through this digital archive, you will see the impassioned "Revolutionizing the Investors' Lives" conference held when everyone was outraged, as well as the records of activities like group movie watching, translation, and writing initiated on ordinary days. With the increasing number of local events, everyone's relationships have also become closer.

Nan Tang does not know that DAO was established with a tone of irony and criticism, yet it objectively provides local members with a third option between cooperatives and Nan Tang DAO. When discussing the relationship with Nan Tang DAO, Tiao intriguingly said: "We hope the existence of Bu Zhi DAO can compel them to change, bring a sense of crisis, and push them to do better." When asked about the differences with Nan Tang DAO, which also aims at rural development, Shu Hui candidly stated: "We refuse to exist for the sake of DAO, but rather focus on those 'things that can be done but haven't been done' that are within our reach, deeply engaging with the villagers' lives." In April 2025, Nan Tang Bu Zhi DAO explained its organizational philosophy and vision through the public account article "In the Flow of Labor Alienation in the City, Searching for the True Meaning of Life," proposing visions such as "decentralization is just a means, not an end," and "let rural construction be better rural construction," and committed to not forcing members to bind with Web3 technology, but rather to empower local youth and more young people to help them realize their own value.