By Du Wenjuan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-11-09 18:57

He says what he does at work is trivial, but require patience and an honest attitude. He assists the committee head with drafting reports and objectives for the village, and acts as a liaison between the villagers and the village chief. The 200 or so residents there are mostly elderly people, while the young leave the village to study or work in the towns or cities.

Besides doing paperwork for the villagers' committee, Li also organizes activities for the villagers like basketball games. “My job helps me to know more about the village and the people living here,” he said.

Unlike Li, another “village official”, Wang Kai, is busy in Beixiaoying, suburban Beijing's Shunyi District.

Beixiaoying Town is the venue for next year's Olympic rowing and canoeing events in Beijing. Wang's village is also preparing for the Games and he has helped organize sporting activities for the residents there.

“I work as a librarian for the village library, collecting farming information. I also manage the local administration archives in the villagers' committee. Whatever I can do in the committee I will help them,” Wang said. “It's well-developed here and I cannot find many differences compared with the city.”

The 22-year-old majored in international politics and economy is determined to become a civil servant. He is very interested in politics and history, and if he was a civil servant, it would make him feel proud. Wang understands the responsibilities of doing public service and so he prefers jobs related to public affairs and administration.

But he failed the civil service exam this year and wasn't able to find a job that he was interested in. That's when Wang realized that practical experience and improving his communication skills might be the blanks he needs to fill in order to realize his career plan.

“Right now, this is a beautiful scenic spot on the road in my life,” he said. “And the time here will be a valuable opportunity for me to toughen my spirit and courage.”

“I feel all young people should go to the countryside to experience it themselves,” Wang continues. “It will help them prepare for their career. They need to learn more about real life. I didn't expect to go to the countryside at first, but I found it easy to adapt to life here.”

Choices in the tough job market

Since 2005, the government has sent about 20,000 new graduates to rural areas every year to develop rural education, medicine and agriculture.

This year, there were 550,000 more graduates sent to the western regions compared to the previous year. And a nationwide “west service plan” asking graduates to voluntarily work in the western and central regions has been going on for five years, with over 7,000 new volunteers serving villages this year.

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