Vitalizing Rural Hope: Graduates head back to their villages, create businesses

World
Europe

02:37

At the end of every year, China holds a central rural work conference to discuss strategies for rural vitalization. Bringing people, especially the talented, to rural areas is considered one of the key measures. CGTN's reporter Liu Xinqing follows one of many university students who went back home to start a business after graduation, and help fellow villagers escape poverty.

Being different is sometimes difficult. For Sun Junlian, heading back to the farms after obtaining a post-graduate degree was a difficult decision to make.

SUN JUNLIAN RURAL ENTREPRENEUR "I grew up in a rural area and got a degree in agriculture. I really wanted to do something for my fellow villagers. So my husband and I decided to come back to our hometown after graduation."

Growing fungi is big business for people in Xichuan county near the Danjiangkou Reservoir in southwest Henan province. But Sun Junlian is doing it a different way, by going high-tech.

SUN JUNLIAN RURAL ENTREPRENEUR "We use a nutrient solution to breed fungi spores, which proves very beneficial, as it prevents them from breaking down, therefore increasing yields. This technology has been welcomed by the market."

They started small, but now it grew into a business raking in of millions of yuan a year. A success not only benefiting themselves, but also fellow villagers who work for them.

LIU XINQING NANYANG, HENAN "It's always encouraging to see people turning small ideas into big businesses. What makes this business different is they had another mission in mind, lifting poor fellow villagers out of poverty, responding to a promise made by President Xi to vitalize the rural areas."

SHEN LONGJIANG FUNGI FARMER "I used to work as a migrant worker in a shoe factory in Guangzhou. I couldn't make much money back then, and had to leave my family behind. Now I'm growing fungi with the help of Manager Sun, and I can earn 50 to 60 thousand yuan a year while also being able to take care of my family."

The key to realizing rural vitalization is people, and the ideas these people bring with them, which is in dire need in rural areas. That's why local government like Xichuan county are drafting favorable policies to encourage people to return home.

SUN JUNLIAN RURAL ENTREPRENEUR "Businesses set up in rural areas have access to a lot of support, such as subsidized loans and poverty-relief funds that university graduates like me can use as start-up capital."

It is always difficult to start a business, especially for university graduates who normally start from scratch. But in Sun's case, it's a venture worth trying, not only for herself, but for fellow villagers who count on her for help.

LIU XINQING, CGTN, NANYANG, HENAN PROVINCE.