MK sport deputy secretary of the CPC branch of Yaxia village, Northwest China's Gansu Province, promotes a local agricultural product on livestream. Photo: Courtesy of Mao" src="https://www.globaltimes.cn/Portals/0/attachment/2025/2025-02-23/a25ef97b-b9c0-49d0-9598-7013749bfd94.jpeg" />

Mao Yanan, deputy secretary of the CPC branch of Yaxia village, Northwest China's Gansu Province, promotes a local agricultural product on livestream. Photo: Courtesy of Mao

At a tourist attraction of Huayuan village in East China's Zhejiang Province, 71-year-old Shao Qinxiang, secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) branch of the village, discusses tree planting and parking lot expansion with the directors of the scenic area.

"[We expect to] build Huayuan village into one of the richest and most beautiful villages in the world," Shao said.

At the doorstep of a villager's home in Yaxia village in Northwest China's Gansu Province, 25-year-old Mao Yanan, deputy secretary of the CPC branch of the village, beams as she introduces the village's specialty agricultural products during a livestream. 

"If online attention has value, I'm happy to use it to help increase our villagers' income," said Mao.

As rural revitalization efforts are in full swing across China, an increasing number of grassroots CPC officials are coming into public view. From the elder generation who have been making decades of efforts in leading local people to prosperity, to the innovative and internet-savvy Gen-Zers, these grassroots Party officials are passionately using their creativity and practical spirit to help villagers achieve better lives in various ways.

The Global Times recently spoke with several Party chiefs of villages across China, who all enjoy a certain level of popularity either online or offline. With diverse ages and experiences, they try to turn public attention into development opportunity for their villages, collectively writing a beautiful story of rural revitalization in China from the frontlines.

Build a 'better Huayuan'

An aerial view of Huayuan village in East China's Zhejiang Province Photo: Courtesy of Wang Jianghong

Ahead of this year's Chinese New Year holiday, Shao, at a provincial-level meeting on agriculture and rural development, shared his experiences as the Party chief of Huayuan village in leading the village toward prosperity and wealth.

Huayuan is one of the most renowned examples of rural revitalization and prosperity in China, enjoying numerous remarkable achievements and accolades. According to data provided by the village, Huayuan achieved an operating income of 78.6 billion yuan ($10.8 billion) in 2024, with the per capita annual income of local villagers reaching 182,000 yuan, surpassing that of urban populations in many regions of the country. 

The village has also been listed as a key village for national rural tourism development, and hailed as a model of rural modernization in China, Xinhua reported. 

It's hard to imagine that this modern and prosperous village once experienced a period of poverty. In 1978, the per capita annual income in Huayuan was only 87 yuan, and local people lived in rudimentary adobe houses. The village didn't even have a decent road.

Since becoming the deputy Party chief of Huayuan village at the age of 27 in 1981, Shao has dedicated decades to guiding the villagers in its pursuit of poverty alleviation and prosperity. They established a factory in the village for candle production, marking the first step for local villagers to transition from traditional agriculture to industrialization. Inspired by Shao, an increasing number of villagers began seeking new development opportunities beyond agriculture, leading to dozens of small factories being built at the village in the 1990s.

But Shao was still unsatisfied with the situation. He realized that, Huayuan needed to shift toward high-tech industries instead of remaining entrenched in labor-intensive sectors.

In the late 1990s, Shao occasionally discovered the great market demand for vitamin D3, and decided to buy the relevant technology. Subsequently, under numerous efforts, Huayuan village's vitamin D3 products became bestsellers globally, contributing to a remarkable surge in the village's revenue.

Huayuan has undergone miraculous changes. Nowadays, the once small candle factory in the village has turned into Huayuan Group, a high-tech enterprise with an annual revenue of 49 billion yuan in 2024, alongside 3,050 individual businesses in the village.

"Over 40 years of practice has proven that unwavering commitment to the real economy, steadfast entrepreneurship and innovation, and seeking productivity from high technology, are the key strategies for us to achieve rapid, healthy, sustainable, and high-quality development," Shao told the Global Times. 

Shao himself is famous in the rural revitalization sector. For many village Party chiefs who came to learn from their experience, Shao advises them to study economics, genuinely serve the villagers, and guide them to update their perspectives. "For me, I will continue to move forward and build a better Huayuan," said Shao.

'Sell scenery'

An aerial view of "Xiaohangkeng" camping site in Xiayang village, East China's Zhejiang Province Photo: Courtesy of Bao Xin

In Xiayang village in Anji county, Zhejiang Province, a camping meadow has become a popular tourist destination, renowned for its picturesque natural scenery. Visitors from across the country flock to this campsite known as "Xiaohangkeng," fully enjoying the fresh air and beautiful mountains and rivers.

"Xiaohangkeng" has ignited the development of ecological tourism in Xiayang village. Data showed that in 2023, the village welcomed 150,000 tourists, with the total output value of ecological tourism there expected to exceed 15 million yuan, according to Shanghai-based news outlet The Paper. 

The beautiful natural environment has become a significant source of income, something local people of the village could once only dream of. The key figure behind this transformation is the village's Party chief, Bao Xin, who, with a deep affection for his hometown, resigned from his executive position in a Shanghai-based company and returned to Xiayang in 2019.

Bao discovered that "Xiaohangkeng" enjoys stunning scenery and rich ecological resources, and decided to develop camping tourism as a direction for the village's economic growth.

However, this was no easy task. Among the permanent residents in Xiayang village, a majority of them are elderly individuals who had never heard of "camping," let alone believed it could be a source of income. "I needed to earn their trust and support first, and then show them that this project could actually bring them money," Bao told the Global Times.

Bao had his methods. He set up tea stalls across the village, inviting passing villagers to enjoy tea and chat, encouraging them to express their needs. Then, from installing streetlights to cleaning up garbage on the doorstep, Bao gradually addressed many of the villagers' requests, and naturally earned their approval.

Bao then led some local villagers in cleaning up the waste in "Xiaohangkeng," setting up camping facilities, and even teaching the seniors how to pitch tents and make coffee, while paying them "wages." Additionally, villagers can receive annual dividends from "Xiaohangkeng," a collective economic project of the village that belongs to all the residents there.

The tangible increase in income led local villagers to wholeheartedly embrace the "Xiaohangkeng" project. Moreover, it has brought tourists from all over the country, making this once quiet village lively. 

"For the villagers, particularly the elderly, they are actually eager for opportunities to engage with young people from the outside world," said Bao. "And we have created such opportunities through the camping project."

Bao becomes a celebrity in rural tourism industry. Almost every day, Bao receives or makes about 40 calls, busy communicating with local villagers, coworkers, government officials, investors, travel agents, and the media. Bao also created an account on the social media platform Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote abroad, for "Xiaohangkeng," sharing photos and videos of the site online.

"By 'selling scenery,' our villagers live a better life. I hope that more people, including those from abroad, can come to 'Xiaohangkeng,' to closely experience the beauty of rural China," Bao told the Global Times.

Livestream generation

In recent years, as China's rural revitalization has gained momentum, more young people are passionately going to the countryside, becoming new blood in rural development. Many Gen Z Party chiefs of villages are creatively using their internet-savvy mindset to help villagers increase their income. They engage in livestream to sell local agricultural products, and make short videos showcasing the beauty of their villages to promote tourism, sparing no effort in transforming online attention into a new tool for assisting farmers.

On Chinese video platforms like Douyin, users can find numerous accounts created by Party chiefs of villages, some of whom have gained popularity with tens of thousands of followers.

Mao Yanan is one of them. Mao became the deputy secretary of the CPC branch in Yaxia village at the end of 2023. A year later, after gaining a deeper understanding of the village's overall situation, including its agricultural products, Mao opened a Douyin account to share the daily life in this village, and also promote local products, such as potato noodles and bupleurum roots, a Chinese herb commonly used to treat colds and other ailments.

Mao, who studied media in college, is no stranger to filming and editing videos. "After coming to Yaxia village, I found that many local agricultural products were of high quality, but were not selling well due to a lack of promotion," she recalled. "So, I decided to play to my strengths, and make short videos to promote the village's agricultural products."

In one of the videos Mao uploaded on Douyin, she stands in a field holding a bunch of bupleurum roots, talking with local growers. "The bupleurum roots have been selling for a decent price over the last two years, but most of the profits go to the buyers, leaving villagers with very little," Mao said to the camera at the end of the video. "Now through e-commerce, villagers can sell their products directly and earn more money, while you (the consumers) can enjoy better prices."

In another video, Mao visited a villager's chicken farm and listened to the owner sharing stories about raising free-range chickens. The scenes of chickens running freely in the mountains and woods captivated many viewers, and largely boosted the sales of this villager's chickens.

"Seeing their smile filled me with a strong sense of accomplishment, and strengthened my determination to continue promoting agricultural products online, so as to help increase the income of villagers," Mao said.

On numerous occasions, Mao has appeared in a simple jacket, smiling brightly at the camera as she patiently introduces the advantages of Yaxia village's agricultural products. Mao's friendly and humorous style has made her quite popular on Douyin, earning her nearly 50,000 followers, and a total of 187,000 likes on her videos. Recently, her shop on Douyin sold about 400 orders of potato noodles.

On this path of rural revitalization, many village officials like Mao are not alone: In recent years, various internet policies to assist agriculture and many internet platforms have provided them with support in logistics, funding, and attention. For instance, Mao's videos have been widely shared on Douyin's agricultural assistance accounts. Similarly, Bao's "Xiaohangkeng" has collaborated with Xiaohongshu, which helps promote the project both online and offline.

"As a member of the younger generation of village officials, I feel that we are well-positioned to leverage the internet. I will further explore how to effectively use online platforms to promote the integration of agriculture and e-commerce, helping more people discover the village and its products," Mao said, while sharing her hope.

Empowering rural development