Over the past 28 days, 41 postgraduate students from the School of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development at Renmin University of China (RUC) have been immersed in a hands-on innovation and training course in Yongtai County, Fujian Province—applying classroom knowledge directly to the challenges of rural revitalization.
The program is a signature course blending academic rigor with practical problem-solving. This year, it brought students nearly 2,000 kilometers from Beijing to Yongtai’s rugged mountains and fertile valleys, where they were tasked with tackling real issues posed by local governments, industries, and farmers.
The initiative kicked off on March 16th and ran through April 12th. Instead of traditional lectures, the course focused on real-world research, consulting, and strategic planning. Core topics included agricultural product marketing, rural inclusive finance, and county-level rural revitalization case studies. Professors guided students to move beyond theory, pushing them to act as researchers and problem-solvers.
“Classroom knowledge only becomes valuable when it meets real-world needs,” said Professor Tong Zhihui, the program’s lead instructor. “This course is about linking problems to people, and turning academic tools into actionable plans.”
In Yongtai’s Tong’an Township, tea is king. But the challenge for students was not just how to grow or sell tea, but how to evolve it into a full-fledged tea-based cultural economy. Students interviewed local officials, toured tea cooperatives, and visited farmers to explore how tea could drive rural prosperity through integrated “tea + tourism” and “tea + education” models.
Meanwhile, in Wutong Township, students discovered that the oil tea industry—once presumed underdeveloped—was already building a comprehensive ecosystem combining agriculture, food processing, daily chemical manufacturing, and even biopharmaceuticals. This insight came from field visits to leading enterprises like “Xianpinyuan.”
“On paper, it looked like a small-time business,” said student Fu Yuheng. “But we realized one tiny tea seed could power a full-circle industrial model. That changed our entire perspective.”
The green plum industry in Geling Town posed yet another set of puzzles. With over 63,000 acres under cultivation, Yongtai is a national leader in plum production—but value-added growth has lagged. Students proposed an “eco +” model to transform Yongtai into China’s first ecological green plum town, integrating farming, sightseeing, processing, and branding.
“Selling raw fruit is no longer enough,” said student Wei Chengshu. “The next step is to connect the first industry with tourism, health, and culture, creating a new growth engine.”
On April 11th, the students presented their consulting reports at RUC’s Fuzhou Research Institute. Local officials praised the proposals for their relevance and potential for implementation.
“Their suggestions hit the mark,” said She Zhuo’er, deputy mayor of Geling. “Especially the ecological chain upgrade for the plum industry—it aligns perfectly with our development strategy.”
Deputy County Mayor Fang Huizhong echoed the sentiment: “From tea-tourism synergy to oil tea branding and ecological agriculture, these students offered practical, grounded, and replicable solutions.”
In just four weeks, students transformed from learners into advisors. They walked the tea trails, listened to farmers, sat in township offices, and drafted roadmaps for rural progress.
“Rural revitalization isn’t about grand theories—it’s about bending down, listening, and turning policies into practical plans,” said student Xu Yitong.
Yongtai now holds not just their footprints but also their insights—a real-world lesson in how education can serve the people.
