Graduate living the rural dream

Tong Zhen tenderly cares for his black pigs in the college graduates' innovation park in Beitou village, Bazhou city, Hebei province on March 29. After graduating college in 2008, Tong became a village assistant to the director of Beitou village. After his suggestion, the village set up a college graduates innovation park covering 40 hectares at the beginning of 2012. The park provides free land use at the beginning stage of innovation to attract college graduates. Tong built an ecological farm with three other college graduates, raising small-bodied chickens, gooses, ostriches and black pigs as well as built a vegetable greenhouse. The innovation park created 20 job for local villagers and is expected to earn more than 300,000 yuan($48,240) a year. Referring to future plans, Tong said, "I will continue the business in the village and do as much work as I can for the villagers." More than 300,000 college graduates had served as grassroots village officials as of September 2012. [Photo/Xinhua]