population of China's historically agrarian society began to pour into cities seeking new opportunities; the countryside was left with the elderly and children, unattended farmland, and run-down houses. Much of Xu's work represents a response to this transformation: she does not want to leave rural communities left behind. This focus on China's rural communities is evident in her interview for Many Voices: Architecture for Social Equity:

In China, rural people are still half of our population - as is true for most of the globe - so I have chosen to focus on rural communities. Many things are needed in rural areas to face this modern era, not just by modernisation but by approaching each rural context and history with sensitivity. The issues could be very different in different places - even our work changes very much from village to village. It's very important to respect the individuality of each project.