Series Reports on "Stimulating Vitality for Rural Development"

In recent years, Huangtian Town has accurately defined the work direction for the return of hometown elites, further activating hometown elite resources, pooling their wisdom and strength, and giving full play to the important role of hometown elites in investment promotion, innovation and entrepreneurship, rural governance, civilized rural customs, public welfare and other fields. It continuously deepens the practice of boosting rural revitalization through the return of hometown elites.

To thoroughly implement the Project of Uniting Strength through Hometown Elites, Huangtian Town established the county’s first Hometown Elites Friendship Association on May 25, 2018. "We immediately built a Hometown Elites Museum, updated and improved the directory of outstanding hometown elites in Huangtian Town, set up WeChat groups for hometown elites, and hired 21 elite representatives as special consultants for rural revitalization of Huangtian Town, so as to strengthen their sense of identity with their hometown and their willingness and sense of responsibility to boost local revitalization and development." Li Ying, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Huangtian Town, introduced to reporters at the Hometown Elites Museum of the town.

"Attract one outstanding talent, and all virtuous talents will gather." Taking the Hometown Elites Friendship Association as a platform, Huangtian Town publicizes and promotes the preferential policies for innovation and entrepreneurship in Qingyuan County and Huangtian Town, mobilizes hometown elites working outside to return and start businesses, and encourages them to devote themselves to local economic and social development. For example, Yao Wenlong, a hometown elite from Taihu Village, has been engaged in business outside for many years. He returned to start a business in 2017 and won the operation right of Qingyuan E-commerce Pioneer Park. With a total investment of 120 million yuan, the park now hosts more than 140 e-commerce enterprises, whose total annual sales reached 320 million yuan in 2019.

"Shen Congchu, a hometown elite from Huangwu Village, originally ran a factory in Songxi and returned to invest and start a business in 2018." Xu Chunpeng, Director of the Regional Development and Governance Support Center of Huangtian Town, said. With strong support from Huangtian Town, he successfully acquired a 25-mu plot in Pingdu Comprehensive New Area and invested 120 million yuan to establish Honglian Enterprise, which undertakes the project of producing 300 million high-grade pencils, eyebrow pencils and softened pencil boards annually. The project has been put into production at present.

"Learn from virtuous people and strive to match their virtues." Centered on the implementation of the Hometown Elite Culture Project, Huangtian Town vigorously fosters civilized rural customs, fine family traditions and simple folk customs. Cai Huanjing, a hometown elite from Yaocun Village, voluntarily invested more than 3 million yuan to build the "Changle Garden" ecological cemetery in Yaocun Village, the largest ecological cemetery project invested by private forces in the county, which has been put into use. In addition, hometown elites including Zhou Dabin and Li Xiaojuan initiated and collected materials to compile the book *Stories of Huangtian – Folk Customs in Southern Zhejiang and Northern Fujian*, which will be published and released before the end of October...

The town actively promotes the Hometown Elite Governance Project to facilitate rural harmony and stability. Adopting forms such as "Deliberation at Covered Bridges" and specially appointing hometown elites as village mediators, Huangtian Town actively explores new approaches to grassroots consultative democracy and encourages hometown elites to offer suggestions for rural governance.

Li Zhiyuan, Secretary of the Party Committee of Huangtian Town, stated that Huangtian will fully leverage the strength of hometown elites, drive the return of technologies, talents, projects and capital through elite returnees, give play to the special role of new-era hometown elites in rural construction, and cultivate hometown elite organizations into an important force for rural revitalization.