Published by ChinaMNC · Xiaoshan

Fuyang District's Youth Rural Practice Sites: A Practical Guide for Foreign Founders

Fuyang District in Hangzhou has launched 17 youth rural practice sites as part of its 'Talents Gather in Fuchun, Rural Innovation for the Future' initiative. This article outlines the support available for youth and how foreign founders can engage with these programs when operating a company in China.

Fuyang's Youth Rural Practice Sites: An Overview

Fuyang District in Hangzhou has established 17 youth rural practice sites (referred to as “sites”) as part of its broader effort to attract young talent to rural areas. Since 2025, these sites have covered agricultural production, cultural and tourism integration, rural tourism, rural e-commerce, and agricultural education. According to official figures, they have brought 335 young people into rural areas, cultivated 7,160 new farmers, 328 agricultural entrepreneurs, and 12 rural operation professionals. For foreign founders considering setting up operations in China, understanding these local initiatives can provide useful context for hiring, training, and community engagement.

Policy Support: The 21 Measures

In July last year, Fuyang District issued the “21 Measures for Youth Rural Development” (officially titled “Talents Gather in Fuchun, Rural Innovation for the Future”). This policy package offers support in seven areas: employment and entrepreneurship, talent cultivation, enterprise talent recruitment, high-level talent introduction and cultivation, platform building, participation in rural operations, and housing security. The director of the Fuyang District Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau, Qian Jiangtao, described the support as “precision drip irrigation,” addressing young people's concerns and creating a stage for them to start businesses. Each site provides a “1+N” service function: “1” for talent recruitment, and “N” for one-stop integration of employment guidance, entrepreneurship incubation, skills training, policy consultation, and living support.

How Sites Operate in Practice

At Hangzhou Fushen Agricultural Technology Development Co., Ltd., six detailed rules implement the policy: free lunch, commuting subsidies, youth growth records, and an annual “Spark Award” of 2,000 yuan for the top 10% in performance reviews. High performers receive priority job recommendations and entrepreneurial resources. The site has also partnered with Zhejiang University and the Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences to establish a national shared farmer field school, a provincial postdoctoral workstation, and a municipal doctoral innovation station. A provincial science and technology vice president, Dr. Gu Fengfei, leads a team adjusting feed formulas based on straw nutrition and cattle growth stages. An intern from Zhejiang University noted that she gained exposure to cutting-edge straw utilization technology and worked on research projects with experts like Changjiang Scholars.

Another site, Hangzhou Binfu Biotechnology Co., Ltd., located in the Luzhu Town Circular Economy Industrial Park, focuses on black soldier fly farming. Its smart, unmanned workshop processes about a quarter of the district's kitchen waste daily, producing four to five tons of fresh larvae and six tons of organic fertilizer from insect frass per day. The site's approach mirrors that of Fushen Agriculture: using research platforms to attract youth, industrial chains to retain them, and rural benefit-sharing to spread results.

Agriculture and Tourism Integration

In a hundred-acre planting base, smart greenhouses regulate temperature, humidity, light, and CO2 levels. The system achieved a sugar content of over 14.4 for black carbon bayberries and an average single fruit weight of 25 grams for Dongkui bayberries. The greenhouses enable a 15-day earlier harvest and pesticide-free cultivation. The “graduate student bayberries” have won gold awards at the first Yangtze River Delta Premium Bayberry Competition and the Provincial Agricultural Expo. The farm employs over 50 villagers, forming an employment chain across age groups: elderly for field management, youth for livestream operations, and mothers for packing and shipping. It also collaborates with towns along the Huyuan River to offer day tours combining bayberry picking, farm meals, and visits to Longlin Dam.

At a tea garden in Folu Village, Xukou Town, the site leader of Minglv Longfu Ecological Agriculture (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd., Zhu Huamin, emphasized the importance of understanding the entire tea production process. A team led by returnee Xie Xinnan designed a tea gift set called “Fuling Longdan” that incorporates Fuchun landscape elements and entered the high-end Japanese market. A client remarked that the tea “contains the breath of Hangzhou's spring.”

E-commerce and Skills Training

Liang Xin, an rural collective economy manager for Hongzhuang Village, signed a contract earlier this year and is based at a strong village company. He spent two months surveying Fuyang's products and discussed with village secretary Ma Guorong the need for real transactions in livestreaming. On March 27, the first public training session on “E-commerce Empowerment for Common Prosperity” enrolled 38 villagers, 18 of whom created accounts and 12 started livestreaming. A cross-street grape rescue operation illustrated the impact: after a request for help, Liang Xin led a livestream that, combined with over 20 days of follow-up, sold 20,000 kilograms of grapes. The village's idle health clinic will be converted into a village broadcasting academy next year, offering trained villagers hourly wages of 20 or 25 yuan for generating orders. Liang Xin noted that the sense of achievement from rooting in the countryside and empowering others is unmatched by any corporate job.

Youth Retention in Specialized Enterprises

Zhejiang Haizheng Animal Health Products Co., Ltd. saw its pet business revenue grow by over 50% year-on-year in the first three quarters. Since March, 60 people have joined the site, and four interns chose to stay after graduation. Site leader Wang Linchao explained that young people seek not only salary but also comfort and a sense of value. The company embeds value into the industrial chain: technical support follows personnel, so young technicians are not isolated in remote farms. Similarly, Hangzhou Saidelin Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd., a national-level specialized and new “little giant” enterprise, exports smart seedling equipment and possesses the only domestic vegetable drum-type high-speed seeding technology. In September, youth R&D efforts contributed to equipment showcased at the 11th APEC Food Security Ministerial Meeting's technical achievement exhibition. The site has signed school-enterprise cooperation agreements with three agricultural machinery colleges, absorbing 10 young people and driving employment and income growth for over 30 surrounding households, with increased earnings exceeding 1.7 million yuan.

Key Takeaways for Foreign Founders

Fuyang's approach can be summarized simply: make rural areas places with work, income, and growth opportunities, and young people will come and stay. For foreign founders, this translates into several practical insights:

• Leverage local talent programs: Fuyang's sites offer a structured way to recruit and train young talent, which can be integrated into your hiring strategy.
• Access shared resources: Partnerships with universities and research institutions provide access to expertise and facilities that might otherwise be costly.
• Engage in rural e-commerce: The district's training programs and livestreaming infrastructure can help you market products or services to local audiences.
• Utilize government support: Policies like the 21 Measures offer financial and logistical support for youth employment and entrepreneurship, which can benefit your operations.

This summary is based on information published by the relevant Chinese government website and is general information, not legal or tax advice.

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