Soundbites

Editor's note: The State Council Information Office held a group interview on Wednesday themed "Forging Ahead on the New Journey", bringing together representatives engaged in rural social civility to speak with the media.

In 1999, I was elected village Party secretary and village director, and I have held these positions ever since. Relying on the Party's good policies, we united and led Party members and the masses to work hard and overcome difficulties, transforming a once poor, dirty, chaotic, and backward village into a model village for rural revitalization. Today, it is livable, suitable for work, and harmonious. Our village has chosen a new collectivized path. By developing and strengthening the village collective economy and encouraging and supporting villagers to start businesses and find employment, we aim to achieve common prosperity. We have cultivated and expanded advantageous industries, including modern agriculture, rural tourism, logistics and trade, building decoration, education and training, and medical care and wellness. With industrial development, we have pooled resources to accomplish major tasks and solve problems that individual households could not address on their own.

Wang Chuanxi, Party secretary of Daicun village, Lanling county, Linyi city, Shandong province

As a curator, I have always been thinking: 90 years ago, Ai Siqi turned profound philosophical ideas into plain language that ordinary people loved to hear. Today, how can we use this same approach to cultivate a civilized rural culture? The answer lies by the small fire pit in Tengchong. Over the years, learning from Ai's people-oriented approach, we have stepped out of the memorial hall and into villages. We set up no podiums and use no formulaic speeches. Instead, we sit with villagers in courtyards and around fire pits, talking about village rules and agreements, filial piety, and family values. In this way, theory has become a guide for daily life.

Bo Yanting, director of the Ai Siqi Memorial Hall in Tengchong city, Yunnan province

I am one of the province's first cultural commissioners, stationed in Hangchuan village, Jiande, Hangzhou. There are over 1,500 of us working across Zhejiang's countryside to promote cultural development. We visit households, identify villagers' cultural needs, bring resources from our home institutions into villages, and work with villagers to implement cultural projects. In the two years since I came to Hangchuan, I have organized photography exhibitions and built a village photography team. I believe our work as cultural commissioners is a two-way cultural journey with the villagers. The building of a civilized rural culture is never about us doing things for the villagers. Instead, we must take root in the countryside and work side by side with them.

Chen Yun, deputy editor-in-chief of Zhejiang Photographic Press and a cultural commissioner of Zhejiang province

Many years ago, I was a flight attendant with Xiamen Airlines, serving passengers from all over the country, dressed in uniform and wearing high heels every day. But the farther I traveled and the more scenery I saw, the more I missed my hometown and family. So in 2016, I returned to my hometown, Minning town, carrying this deep attachment and my original aspiration. I often wondered: when will my hometown be seen by more people? Then one day, I met the deputy head of our town, who said to me: "You are a college graduate from our town. Have you ever thought of using your English major to promote Ningxia's agricultural products?" His words struck a chord with me. I grew up in Minning and have witnessed its development and transformation over the past 30 years. Today, Minning has an abundance of fine products. So I decided to tell the story of my hometown's changes and introduce its agricultural products in both Chinese and English, so that more people could see Minning. I planted myself deep in the fields of Minning, using my phone as my new farming tool and turning my livestreaming room into my new farmland.

Wu Juan, villager from Yuanlong village, Minning town, Yongning county, Yinchuan city, Ningxia Hui autonomous region