Full coverage: 95 years of glory

Most college graduates are vying for jobs in the big cities. But some others are packing up their bags to work at the grassroots level in the countryside. CCTV's Xia Ruixue went to a village in central China’s Henan province to find out why one graduate made his choice to stay.

35-year-old Li Tao never expected to be working as a village official for more than 10 years.

He would have had more opportunities in the city after he graduated from college in 2005, but he chose to go to the countryside, taking up the challenge of running a village instead.

"I was born and raised in a farming village. So I wanted to go back and do something for the rural people. In my opinion, a college-graduate village official's job is not just to fit into rural life, but to make a difference there," said Li Tao, party secretary Liang'an village.

Li first helped raise money to build roads and underground pipelines for tap water.

Last year, he built the village’s first kindergarten and a clinic.

"He was too young to be trusted at the beginning. But he did change a lot in our village. Now he is improving our power grid to provide us steady electricity. We really appreciate it," said Zhang Xiangguo  villager.

"Most of college-graduate village officials find it hard to fulfill their mission and eventually quit their jobs. Many want it to be a springboard for promotion or a better job. But I think I belong here," said Li Tao, party secretary Liang'an village.

For Li Tao, working in the village is a career to develop.

He is ambitious and has a bigger plan to improve living standards in the village. In 2007 he started his own venture project in farming industry.

Three years ago, he established a College-Graduates Village Officials Startup Incubator where all the village officials in Jiyuan City can start their own businesses.

"We felt lost about our future before, especially when our friends were living a more colorful life in the big cities. But when villagers are earning more money by selling products on our e-commerce website, it feels worthwhile," said Huang Yili graduate village official.

Since 2005, the Chinese government has been encouraging graduates to work in villages in an effort to improve rural administration. More than 220,000 college graduate village officials have been working around the country.

Li Tao says the reason that he would devote all his life to rural people is not just the passion and responsibility, but because he is a member of the Communist Party.

"Every year, hundreds of thousands of college graduates have been appointed as village officials. Most of them are member of the Communist Party. The government should bring forward more favorable policies to encourage them to stay, grow and thrive in rural areas," said Xia Ruixue Jiyuan.