It's early in the morning and my alarm goes off. Why did I set it? It is Sunday after all, no work today. Then I remember – I'm going to visit my friend, the farmer painter, in a small village in Huxian county, Shaanxi Province.

I jump out of bed, calling my friends to make sure they are also awake and getting ready. We will all meet in half an hour and go to the Shui Si bus station, near the north-west corner of North-West University in Xi'an, where we will catch the local bus to Dawang town in the west suburb of the city.

The bus rattles out of the city, stopping to collect a few more passengers and waiting patiently while a major traffic jam untangles itself. The view outside changes from city buildings, shops and factories to farmland and I begin to get excited. Soon we will be in North Wu village, where my friend lives. We pass the village and the bus stops at Dawang town, and I eagerly leap off. My friend, Li Zhoucheng is there waiting for us, ready with a three-wheeled motorbike taxi to take us back to the village.

We reach his house, situated on the edge of North Wu village, right next to the fallow fields. The crops have been harvested and the farmers now wait until spring to plant for the next season. My friends and I are warmly welcomed, and very quickly we sit at the tables and a hearty lunch placed in front of us. Li's wife, Yan Chunling is an excellent cook, and piles the food onto our plates.

Lotus root, fish, meat dishes, vegetables, and a huge bowl of noodles each all grace the table. Li brings over a bowl of steamed bread, fresh from the stove, and made from wheat he grew himself. Definitely the freshest, most delicious steamed bread I have eaten! I stuff myself, but still seem to make no effort in cleaning up the food in front of me.

Li is a well-known farmer painter, with vibrant, lively works. But he is much more than this. He, and his wife Yan are members of a local Qin Opera group and they know how much I enjoy listening to this form of music, so they gather the group and perform for me each time I visit.

The singers and musicians also enjoy the feast, chatting, telling jokes and laughing. I wish I could speak Shaanxi dialect and join in the merriment! After we have eaten our fill and cleared away the tables, the musicians set up, ready for an afternoon of fun. A speaker system is connected to the next-door neighbor's house so that the whole village can enjoy the music.

The musicians are versatile and can swap musical instruments, playing the er hu, or the Chinese violin, ban hu, a Chinese traditional bowed string instrument, drums, gongs and rhythm sticks. Each of the women takes it in turns to sing duets or solos. Then the men join in. My friends translate the stories of the songs to me so that I can appreciate what is happening. Neighbors drop in to watch, bringing children and grandchildren. This is a good way to spend a quiet afternoon in the village, and soon the courtyard is filled with musicians, singers and an enthusiastic audience.

One of my friends tells me that in his village, no one knows these local songs any more and so the tradition has died out there. I find this sad, and am keeping my fingers crossed that the younger people of North Wu village learn the instruments and songs, to keep this special local music alive.

The musicians insist that I take a turn at singing. Oh dear, this is NOT good. My singing is akin to the sound of a dying cat, but they will not listen to my protests and so I am thrust into the middle of the courtyard and give my a capella version of Waltzing Matilda! I sing quickly, trying to spare musical ears as much torment as possible. Being charming people, they listen politely, but I think I see a look of relief on their faces as I slink away from the attention. I am glad that they quickly resume their own playing. To recover from my embarrassment, I slip inside the house to look at Li's paintings.

The works are traditional, depicting rural scenes, weddings and local customs. They are bright and colorful, and I have quite a large collection already. Some of Li's paintings have been exhibited in France and around China. Many of my friends have taken them back to their homelands as treasured mementos of their time in China. I have given wedding paintings to my family members when they tie the knot. Today I want to buy a painting for a friend who is getting married, so I look through the offerings and finally find one I think will be just right. My friends join me and we discuss which paintings we want. They are lovely to take back home as gifts – easy to pack, light, transportable and quintessentially Chinese.

It is getting late, and the musicians are starting to pack up. We too gather our belongings and treasured paintings. Li invites me to come back soon, and I promise to visit again, to stay with them for a couple of days and sleep on the traditional heated bed called a kang.

We make our way back to the main road and wave down a bus that is heading back to the city. As we drive back, the memories of the day stay with me, and I see farmland, not factories; hear music, not car horns.

Painter and musician: Li Zhoucheng (李周成)

Tel: 029-84938637

Singer: Yan Chunling (闫春玲)

Address: North Wu village in Dawang town, Huxian county of Xi'an, Shaanxi Province

陕西省西安市户县大王镇梧北村