Tsinghua University, in partnership with local governments, is setting up bases in rural areas, which provide long-term, targeted assistance to villages' development and offer a platform for students to engage in the rural revitalization.
The construction of these bases, or "rural revitalization stations", is a nonprofit project initiated by the School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, in early 2018, aiming to coordinate multiple resources from the university to boost the development of areas near these stations.
The school has so far reached agreements with nearly 20 municipal or county-level governments to set up rural revitalization bases, which will serve as platforms for local governments, universities and social groups to explore innovative methods for rural revitalization and talent cultivation.
Zhang Hong, Assistant Professor of the school and the main initiator of the project, says villagers can use the stations, featuring cinemas, libraries, meeting rooms, exhibition halls and other facilities, for gatherings, entertainment and training entrepreneurs.
They can also provide reception areas and workspaces for representatives from student organizations, companies and nonprofits that aim to help develop nearby villages.
For instance, in Fujian province's Minqing county, a local nonprofit is using the station to give classes and run workshops where villagers can learn planting and breeding techniques, ideas for promoting agricultural products and knowledge related to e-commerce. Training sessions for cultivating entrepreneurs in rural places are also offered at the station.
"The station can bring nearby villages more opportunities. It's not a temporary project but a lasting one that will benefit villages in the next two decades or even longer," says Zhang.
Cheng Zhengyu, a doctoral candidate at Tsinghua and another initiator of the project, says they used to organize teams to visit remote villages during holidays to help local people renovate old houses.
"We didn't know for sure if our renovation plans were actually working. However, after the stations were set up, we could forge long-term connections with the villages, making sure our efforts brought positive changes."
The school has now integrated the revitalization project into its curriculum. The teachers and students in the project discuss construction with local officials and conduct surveys in villages to gather information before designing the stations.
"Students are required to design the stations' buildings in class with local conditions taken into consideration, and implement the plans when they visit villages during the holidays, which gives them a precious opportunity to build a structure from scratch," says Cheng.
For example, a station featuring a cultural museum is being established in Nanjing city's Gaochun district, which boasts a cultural heritage including ceramics. In the Wendeng district of Shandong province's Weihai city, which aims to facilitate the development of architecture and design, the station's structures have been given an artistic, modern touch, attracting many designers to visit.
To inspire more students to join the rural revitalization, Cheng's team also runs a WeChat public account, where participants share their experiences and achievements in the project.
He Yunjuan, an alumna of Tsinghua’s School of Architecture, says: "I often read the stories they shared, and my tutor, who is involved in the project, also talked with me about what they had experienced when exploring the revitalization projects in villages. I was touched, and the idea of working for rural development after graduation hit me."
Being a native of Yunnan's Ninglang county, she decided to work for the province's Housing and Urban-Rural Development Department after graduating in 2018. The following year, she joined poverty-alleviation work in Dacang village in Yunnan's Xiangyun county. Later, she got in touch with the revitalization project of her alma mater and took advice from experts about renovating shabby houses and improving rural infrastructure. Now, they're preparing to set up a station in a county near Dacang.
"The project will help me to better work on poverty alleviation in the village," she says.
Source: Xing Wen, China Daily
Editors: Lin Lu, John Olbrich
