Twelve graduate students and two teachers from nine universities, including Renmin University of China, Beihang University, Nankai University, Fudan University, Wuhan University, Shandong University, Lanzhou University, Guizhou University, and National University of Defense Technology, have formed a graduate academic social practice group.
The team, based on the Understanding China academic training program of RUC's Pioneer Social Practice Project, aims to help students conduct academic research through social practice under the guidance of teachers. They recently conducted a special research in Xigou Township, PingShun County, Changzhi City, Shanxi Province. The theme of the research is how Xigou can continue to deepen, solidify, and make its rural work distinctive in the new era.
Under the guidance of the Academic Degrees and Graduate Education Development Center of the Ministry of Education, RUC initiated the establishment of an alliance in May 2023 which aims to explore new ideas and measures to strengthen and improve the ideological thought of graduate students, and currently has 107 member universities. The trip to Xigou is the first attempt of the alliance to create an academic community of education across universities, disciplines, and professions.
Bai Yao, a master's student from the School of Civil Engineering and Mechanics at Lanzhou University, said that after arriving in Xigou Township, he felt more and more fulfilled day by day. Not only was the research work arranged richly, but he also felt spiritually fulfilled.
“In my impression, the northern villages should be bare, but I found that this place is very much like my hometown. Everywhere I look, there are mountains and greenery,” said Xie Youshudi, a master's student in School of Agronomy and Seed Industry from Guizhou University.
Yang Fenggang, the village head of Xigou, introduced that the natural conditions of Xigou are not superior because it is located in the Taihang Mountains, with stone mountains and gullies everywhere, making it difficult to grow anything. Here, it's not just a mountain slope of trees, it's hard to grow even one, said Yang Fenggang. It was the older generation who persisted for decades, planting whenever there is soil, that created the green mountains and clear waters of today.
Bai Yao said that understanding China requires continuous experience to understand. By walking in Xigou, seeing what people here are doing, and listening to what they are saying, one can truly understand the real face of Chinese society. And the seemingly distant and vague spirit of the labor model also becomes concrete and vivid at this moment.
In addition, during the multi-day field research, what impressed the students of the practice group the most were the young people who were dedicated to the grassroots society’s work.
The students of the practice group found that young people's employment at the grassroots level is not only reflected in trivial matters but more importantly, young people bring a broader vision and younger thinking to the development of the countryside, which is a good way to inject vitality into the development of the rural areas.
There are not only university graduates who are determined to make contributions to the countryside, but also young talents who have worked outside for many years and returned to their hometowns with resources and insights to give back, said Lv Yue, a master's student in School of Science and Technology from Beihang University. He added that their stories have made him have a deeper review and thinking about whether he should return to his hometown and go deep into the grassroots after graduation.
The practice group went deep into the fields and rural households during the day and started intense discussions at night. Under the guidance of Zhi Wenkang, the academic mentor of the practice group from RUC, the students shared their experiences, exchanged case experiences, refined academic issues, and discussed ways to solve problems. The enriching research schedule is not a superficial tour. The students' steps to promote academia with practice are very solid.
After the research, the practice group repeatedly discussed and refined the model of Xigou’s experience in the comprehensive rural revitalization. Besides, they proposed challenges and suggestions, which finally formed a nearly 30,000-word research report.
