CPC volunteers find different ways to shape China's grassroots future

"I used to find The Communist Manifesto difficult to fully grasp," said Li, who has been a CPC member for four years. "But in Xizang, through real work, I came to understand what it means to serve the people."

While Li's work is rooted on the snowy plateau, 37-year-old Fan Jiang, a CPC member for 15 years and a member of the All-China Youth Federation, has taken a different path: building the digital rural economy.

In 2019, Fan began using social media to support rural development in his hometown in Shanxi province. He discovered that Shanxi had rich traditional medicinal resources, though only a small share had been developed.

Together with his team, Fan spent six months creating more than 40 food- and medicine-based products, including drinks, pillows and sachets, which were later launched at the 2021 Central China Investment and Trade Exposition.

His work soon expanded beyond Shanxi. Since 2022, he has joined a youth rural revitalization project led by the Communist Youth League of China, working across more than 20 provinces to promote local products through livestreaming.

Rather than relying on aggressive sales tactics, Fan's livestreams focus on rural traditions and regional culture. He recalled one session in Jilin province where viewership surged from around 2,000 to 20,000 when an intangible cultural heritage inheritor demonstrated traditional bow-making.

"When products are combined with local character and storytelling, they gain new life," he said.

Fan then launched a training program for livestream hosts to support young people returning to their hometowns to start businesses. He also helped build a rural livestreaming alliance with 285 hosts and a combined following of over 440 million, featuring more than 3,000 products from counties across the country.

"We are not training influencers, but a new generation of digital farmers rooted in rural areas," he said. "What matters most is seeing farmers benefit after each session, and young people returning home through our program. That tangible impact means a lot to me."

Although Li and Fan work in different fields, both have chosen paths defined by close engagement with local communities. Success is measured not by personal recognition, but by whether their work changes ordinary lives.

"I may have given up a comfortable life, but I have gained the genuine trust of the people. That is what happiness has come to mean for me," Li said.