Facing the diminishing chance to find employment in cities, many college graduates in China have found that they are urgently needed in the country's vast rural areas where people are thirsty for fresh information and scientific knowledge. Amid the country's move to encourage graduates to work in the countryside, a group of ambitious youngsters have come to a small county in Henan.

Luo Xiaoyan, an assistant to the secretary of the Party Committee in Zhoucun Village in Yichuan Country, central China's Henan Province, is talking to CRI reporter during an interview on March 11, 2009. [CRIENGLISH.com]

Among the group of ambitious youngsters is 23-year-old Luo Xiaoyan, who has now returned to the small village of Zhoucun, her hometown she was born in and left four years ago. Her life choice came while most of her classmates are busy looking for jobs in big cities.

Graduating from Luoyang Normal University last June, Luo Xiaoyan surpassed hundreds of competitors to win the post as an assistant to the secretary of the Party Committee in her home village in Yichuan County, central China's Henan province.

A major in chemistry, Luo finds her knowledge has enabled her to help increase the yields of her village's grain production. She says she enjoys her work very much.

"I helped the villagers to detect chemical elements in the fields to make it easy for them to choose a proper fertilizer. I feel very happy when I find that my specialty can really help our villagers."

Luo also learns to draft reports for the village committee and sometimes try to help mediate conflicts among villagers to create a harmonious atmosphere. Although having worked for only two and a half months, she has already won the support and respect of the villagers.

"The villagers are very hospitable. They treat me like a family member. They always greet me with a hello and give me friendly smiles when we encounter once another or they receive help from me."

Luo Xiaoyan is one of the 120 college graduates the Yichuan County enrolled last June amid the country's efforts to boost graduates working in rural areas. More than 6,000 students from Henan-based universities applied for 120 positions in the county. The successful candidates began working last December as assistants to village heads or secretaries to village Party committees.

He Min, a village administrator in Xichang Village in Yichuan Country, central China's Henan Province, is talking to CRI reporter during an interview on March 11, 2009. [CRIENGLISH.com]

He Min, a graduate from Zhengzhou University, works as an official in Xichang Village. But different from Luo Xiaoyan, she is from an urban family.

Born in city Luoyang, He Min could hardly distinguish the different types of grain before she came to the village last December.

The shabby living conditions in the countryside once seemed out of the question for her who lived a comfortable and fashionable life in the city. But now, the girl finds she has become fond of everything around the green fields and the lovely village.

"I can go shopping in big department stores in the city and buy luxury fashion brands like Louis Vuitton and Calvin Klein. But people in cities seldom communicate with each other. The people in the countryside are different. They are simple, yet friendly and caring folk."

The girl said she has experienced happiness that she could never find in the city. And what's more important, the feeling of been needed.

"I find I am useful when the villagers ask me for help. I come to find my position and realize the value of life through helping others. It makes me feel good."

Jin Chunchao, the deputy secretary of the county Party committee of Yichuan, has given the performance of the students the thumbs-up after their three-month internship.

"College graduates, with the knowledge they get in universities, will play important roles in farming by providing scientific guidance and they can inject fresh blood into China's current moves to build a new countryside."

The graduates will work in the countryside for at least three years. Although it remains to be seen how long these young people will actually stay in rural areas and how this move to the country will work out in the long term, many believe it is a move worth trying.

(CRIENGLISH.com March 15, 2009)