As more Chinese graduates explore rural jobs, comparisons with Mao Zedong’s campaign fail to pass muster

Li said most participants from her university in Zhuhai would work as teachers or volunteers at village schools, or village cadres helping to monitor the risk of people returning to poverty.

After two years of service, they could choose to stay or pursue new jobs elsewhere, she said, adding that many would choose to take the civil service exams because they earned extra points towards qualification by taking part in the campaign.

“As far as I know, few have actually stayed and settled down in those villages, as the authorities hoped they would,” Li said.

Joan Huang, a second-year student at a university in Guangzhou, Guangdong’s provincial capital, said she was not interested in such programmes because she saw no career prospects in rural areas.

“To be frank, I think this initiative is only getting people to do chores at entry-level positions in grass-roots government bodies,” she said. “The economy in these areas is bad and it’s nearly impossible for graduates to launch a start-up, except for maybe a milk tea shop.

“There might be opportunities in large infrastructure or smart agriculture, but these are not for ordinary students.

“If you enter a local company, the pay would be low and may not be enough to cover the university tuition your family has spent. If you go back to big cities after that, then you’ll find the work experience in rural areas useless.”

China’s urban-rural income gap has remained wide despite a slight improvement in the past decade. Last year, the average disposable income of rural residents was 20,133 yuan (US$2,848), compared with 49,283 yuan for those in urban areas, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Stressing that China could not become a real power without strong agriculture and thriving villages, Xi has urged local governments to lure not only university students, but also entrepreneurs and former farmers who had left to find work in cities.

“We should guide graduates, capable people, migrant workers and entrepreneurs to the countryside in an orderly way, and help solve their concerns so that they can stay and start a career,” he told the national rural work conference in December.

Zheng Fengtian, a professor at Renmin University’s school of agricultural and rural development, said talent was one of resources needed most by less developed regions that have benefited from China’s industrial transfer and poverty-elimination drive.

“In central and western areas, some industries and companies have arisen during the push to alleviate poverty, and some have been moved there from affluent areas like Shenzhen and Guangzhou,” he said. “Now they need talent for further growth.

“For individuals, living in a small town may not be worse than in a metropolis – one may be able to buy a home after working there for just a couple of years. The quality of life isn’t worse than in big cities.”

Janice Wang, 28, returned to her home village in Anji, Zhejiang province, three years ago – lured back to the countryside by increased government investment, lower living costs and a slower pace of life.

She worked as a teacher in the city after graduating from university in 2016, but moved back home to begin running a bed-and-breakfast in 2020.

While it was hard for fresh graduates to see a future in rural villages, she said starting her own business in the countryside had become a desirable and feasible option after she accumulated some savings from working as a teacher.

“We have well-built roads, good public facilities and fresh air here,” Wang said. “I meet different guests every day. It’s not easy work but I feel freer and happier.”

She had not had to worry about renting or buying a home, as the house she was running was her family property.

“Business is not bad, despite some negative influence from pandemic lockdowns in recent years,” Wang said. “There has been an increasing number of retired people, and they have great demand for travelling and cheap accommodation.

“So overall, I have much less pressure living this way.”

This article was first published on SCMP.