An associate professor at the School of Arts, RUC, and also a nationally renowned artist, Cong Zhiqiang, was awarded the title of "The Most Beautiful Zhejiang Person, Pride of Zhejiang" for bringing about significant changes to a rural village in Zhejiang province.
On April 5, 2019, Cong Zhiqiang, accompanied by three graduate students, arrived at Gejia Village located in Zhejiang Province, a remote village nestled in the fields. They were committed to empowering rural development through art.
When Cong Zhiqiang and the Deputy Secretary of the Ninghai County Committee, Li Guijun, discussed about how to stimulate villagers' productivity and explore new models, they found a resonance in empowering villagers by cultivating culture. Thus, the two first came to Gejia Village, a village self-proclaimed by locals as one without characteristics, advantages, and potential.
In his many years of rural design work experience, Cong Zhiqiang found that engaging villagers in artistic endeavors was challenging. Their understanding of art remained limited to high-end concepts, and they either didn't believe in Cong Zhiqiang or didn't believe they could be so close to art.
While wandering through the village, Cong Zhiqiang noticed that the open space next to the village cultural hall was where villagers gathered, always standing and chatting.
"Why not make public benches so that people will remember us when they sit and chat?" Cong Zhiqiang finally created the "RUC Bench" with an artistic flair. The appearance of such a novel and unique chair opened a window of art for the villagers of Gejia Village.
Cong Zhiqiang once said, "Beauty solves problems!" It was precisely this primitive sensation brought by beauty that led to the subsequent story of spreading to more than twenty villages, all originating from Gejia Village.
Immediately, villagers invited Cong Zhiqiang into their homes to help "decorate" their yards. Within 13 days, Cong Zhiqiang completed the transformation of eight spaces, receiving unanimous approval from the villagers.
It turned out that implementing artistic design into the daily lives of villagers significantly increased their enthusiasm for building their homes.
On August 26, 2019, the RUC - Gejia Village Integrated Design Art Exhibition opened, and the Gejia Village Rural Construction Art Troupe was established. 86 villagers received certificates as "Rural Construction Artists" from Zheng Shuiquan, Vice Chair of the University Council. Meanwhile, villagers of Gejia Village went out to spread art to more villages.
On December 12, 2019, ten villagers from Gejia Village went to RUC to give an art class to teachers and students, sharing the changes in Gejia Village over the past six months. The lecture was fully livestreamed online and sparked significant reactions.
Later, Cong Zhiqiang continued to travel tirelessly throughout Ninghai County, contributing to rural revitalization. The "RUC-Ninghai Model" continued to evolve, not only enhancing the civility of rural society and the happiness of farmers but also injecting new vitality into the rural economy.
This model spread beyond Ninghai County, forming successful new cases in many counties across China, igniting the innovative vitality of art in empowering rural areas.
"The successful practice of the 'RUC-Ninghai Model' provides valuable reference for rural revitalization in Ninghai County and even more extensive areas, enriching the connotation and practical path of the 'new form of rural civilization.'" emphasized Zhang Donggang, Chair of the University Council.
On January 26, 2024, Cong Zhiqiang was awarded the title of "The Most Beautiful Zhejiang Person, Pride of Zhejiang." Cong, who had traveled back and forth between Beijing and Ninghai County many times, said, "Today, I am fortunate to receive this honor, but what I want to say that the farmers are actually the pride of Zhejiang."
Cong Zhiqiang has always believed that to promote rural revitalization, it is necessary to tap into rural cultural resources, cultivate rural cultural talents, and develop rural cultural industries.
RUC has always regarded deepening education assistance and comprehensively promoting rural revitalization as an indisputable mission. It continuously explores new models of school-local cooperation in humanities and social sciences to serve rural revitalization and common prosperity.
Cong Zhiqiang is one of the many pioneers striving for this cause. His story with Gejia Village inspires more and more members of RUC to engage in the great cause of rural revitalization.
