Full revitalization of rural areas is not only the responsibility of youth but also an opportunity for them.
Through promoting agricultural products via short videos, preserving traditional craftsmanship, and advancing modern agricultural techniques, young people are demonstrating deep affection for rural development and acquiring the skills to contribute to it. They are becoming a vital force in driving rural progress.
Li Qiang checks fungus-growing bags in a black fungus greenhouse in Jiandong village, Funing town, Suifenhe city, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province. (Photo/Zhang Chao)
Li Qiang is a 33-year-old black fungus (wood ear mushroom) farmer in Jiandong village, Funing town, Suifenhe city, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province. His cultivation base is equipped with temperature and humidity sensors, and monitors that receive meteorological data, all of which can be monitored via his smartphone.
When Li graduated from college eight years ago, he gave up urban career opportunities and returned to his hometown to grow black fungi. During the day, he learned techniques from experienced farmers, while at night, he acquired agricultural knowledge through short videos. One day, a video about Internet of Things-assisted farming inspired him to embrace the digital transformation of black fungus cultivation.
Li visited the Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Northeast Forestry University to seek expert guidance and invested his own funds in buying sensors for experiments.
During a late spring cold snap, the sensor-based intelligent technology he installed detected low temperatures, automatically activating the heating system of his smart greenhouses and saving all his fungus-growing bags there, while traditional greenhouses suffered a 30 percent loss.
In 2022, Li introduced and promoted the cultivation of selenium-enriched black fungi. At harvest time, his selenium-enriched black fungi contained three times the selenium of ordinary varieties, leading to a 20 percent price premium.
Today, his cultivation base helps 33 neighboring households increase their annual income by an average of 42,000 yuan ($5,819.55).
Photo shows Shen Zhidan (C) peeling lotus seeds with villagers in Wuyishan city, southeast China’s Fujian Province. (File photo)
Shen Zhidan, a vlogger born after 1985 from Wuyishan city in southeast China’s Fujian Province, has promoted specialty products from her hometown via videos.
In early 2018, Shen returned to her hometown in Yangzhuang township and began sharing rural life on short video platforms.
"Initially, I just wanted to capture local food, scenery, and document daily life," Shen said. Surprisingly, her authentic portrayal of rural living attracted wide attention, bringing visibility to her hometown’s specialty products.
"I never expected that making videos would help sell our local goods," Shen said. She then purchased sweet potato chips, fermented bean curd, chili sauce, tea, and other products from nearby farmers, showcasing the complete production process in her videos.
After forming a professional team in late 2020 and establishing tea and food brands in 2021, Shen invested in building a standardized agricultural product processing facility, and actively collaborated with rural cooperatives, which manage planting, breeding, procurement, and processing according to specific requirements.
"Recently, we signed a strategic cooperation agreement with a research institute of the Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences to strengthen quality control throughout the production process and ensure product quality," Shen said.
Currently, Shen and her team have launched more than 50 specialty agricultural products. This year, she began distributing sweet potato seedlings and goose chicks to surrounding farmers free of charge, while committing to purchase their products at above-market prices.
"Our newly built goose processing factory is about to start production, with an expected annual output of 200,000 geese," Shen said.
Over the past three years, Shen’s team has achieved a 300 percent increase in brand sales, while helping more villagers boost their incomes.
Shen has also been invited to conduct public welfare training for rural livestreamers across various regions, having trained approximately 1,000 individuals.
Photo shows Yukangkan showcasing a piece of handmade Dai paper in Manzhao village, Menghai county, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China’s Yunnan Province. (File photo)
At an educational tour base in Manzhao village, Menghai county, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, more than 10 primary school students gathered around Yukangkan, a post-90s inheritor of the Dai papermaking craft, to observe the process with curiosity.
The Dai papermaking art has a history spanning over 800 years in the village. Her father is a provincial-level inheritor of the traditional craft.
In 2020, Yukangkan returned to Manzhao village and established a company, aiming to revitalize the traditional craftsmanship.
"We bought equipment not to replace manual work, but to overcome the limitations of traditional techniques. Previously, Dai paper had limited colors, but now we can create intricate patterns on the paper by adding natural dyes and fresh flower petals and using laser marking and gold stamping technologies," she said.
Under Yukangkan’s leadership, the village has developed over 60 products, including packaging paper, handbags, gift boxes, fans, lighting fixtures, and decorative paintings, opening a new chapter for the traditional Dai papermaking craft.
In recent two years, the village’s annual Dai paper production has exceeded 10 million sheets, with the village’s annual income surpassing 10 million yuan.
原文地址：http://en.people.cn/n3/2025/0508/c90000-20312209.html