媒介与社群的力量:虚实互动视角下乡村咖啡馆重构乡村空间的特征与机制OA

Digital media are becoming increasingly involved in the production and reproduction of rural spaces by reshaping how rural places are made visible,visited,and consumed.Existing studies have examined rural tourism,media communication,and new consumption spaces but have rarely explained how online visibility turns into a sustained operation and restructures rural spaces.Taking Shecun Village in Nanjing,China,as a case,this study constructs a"social media-actors-rural space"analytical framework from the perspective of virtual-real interaction.This study draws on field observations,interviews with operators of 23 rural cafés,and social media data from Xiaohongshu and Douyin.It traces the evolution of rural cafés in Shecun from 2020 to 2025,unveiling three evolution stages based on physical expansion and online communication intensity.In the initial stage(2020-2021),rural cafés were embedded as functional nodes that served cycling communities.Information circulated mainly through WeChat groups,WeChat Moments,and specialized outdoor sports applications.Although the scope of communication was limited,interest-based ties supported repeated visits.Rural café operators provided rest,supplies,and places to socialize,which led cyclists to begin to stop and gather in Shecun rather than just pass through.The spatial changes were gradual,and local residents participated mainly through house rental and basic services.In the acceleration stage(from late 2021 to 2024),peri-urban leisure demand increased,platforms recommended rural cafés more actively,the village became highly visible online,and cafés rapidly multiplied.Visual elements that were easy to recognize and circulate became increasingly important in space-making.More rural cafés started posting online content,and more content attracted more visitors.The online and physical growth fed each other.This process also made cafés look increasingly alike,brought tidal visitor flows,and created parking and environmental pressures,with the tensions between visitors and residents growing as well.This highlights the limitations of relying heavily on external visitors.In the adjustment and differentiation stage(from late 2024 onward),online traffic growth stabilized and competition intensified.Rural café operators shifted from chasing broad exposure to identifying target customers,retaining them,and maintaining long-term relationships.Operators increasingly organized recurring activities and used specific labels to attract target groups;some one-time visitors were gradually converted into repeated participants through continuous interactions.Collaboration among cafés and linkages with homestays,farm restaurants,handicraft shops and other local businesses expanded,forming a micro-level collaborative network.Rural cafés were no longer just places to consume,but began to organize customers,activities,and local resources.Their revenue sources diversified through catering,cultural and creative products,handicraft experiences,team-building packages,and space rental.Overall,rural spatial restructuring driven by rural cafés is not a simple response to online popularity but a staged process shaped by the interactions among media visibility,actors' organizational practices,and existing rural spatial conditions.Digital media play different roles across stages,while their sustained operation increasingly depends on actors' capacities to organize customers,relationships,and local resources.Studies have often separated online communication from offline restructuring,whereas this study considers them as one continuous process.The study demonstrates how actors turn online attention into visits,repeated visits,cooperation,and spatial changes.For planning and governance,this means moving beyond fixed,one-time control,and since rural cafés evolve in stages,regulations should adapt to changes in online visibility,actor coordination,and spatial pressures.