The Design Valley conceived by Li Jiutai, who represents the local side in the working scheme of Tsinghua University Rural Revitalization Wendeng Station in Weihai, Shandong province. The station is located in Chujia village of Dashuipo town in the city of Weihai. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Tsinghua students have visited the villages of Dashuipo several times, according to Zhang. They lived in the villages and talked to farmers to learn about the local history, dialect and geographical features, as well as the farmers' food and lifestyle.

With the knowledge they have accumulated from their field studies, they have facilitated street construction and designed trash cans, village logos and packages for local agricultural products.

"The rural revitalization provides us with good opportunities to apply our knowledge," says Zhang.

For example, students from the School of Architecture at Tsinghua have helped transform houses that have been left unused into ones with local features. The buildings of the Wendeng station at Dashuipo adopted the same ridge shape as local houses to present a dynamic effect.

The station, which took more than one year to complete, features an opening core area surrounded by facilities including a theater and an exhibition room. Near the station, unused local houses have been transformed into homestays and a coffee room.

"During the design and construction of the station, we overcame many difficulties. We had to reschedule our work plans to account for the rainy season," says Zhang, adding that it was not easy to turn their design into reality.

Li Jiutai, who got his doctorate from Tsinghua, stands outside a village house he helped to design and renovate. [Photo by Zhao Ruixue/China Daily]

Many students have volunteered to join in the rural development in different ways, Han says.

In late November, three students from the School of Civil Engineering, the School of Architecture and the School of Humanities at Tsinghua shared stories of the lives and studies with senior middle school students in the town.

"Education plays an important role in rural revitalization in the long run. We are planning to host more activities with the university to expand students' horizons," says Liu.

"Our stations of rural revitalization are open and long-term projects with public interest at their hearts. With the stations, we hope to attract more teachers and students, alumni and alumna, social organizations and other schools' teachers and students to join us in revitalizing the rural areas," says Han.

The Wendeng station creates a new working scheme which features three sides representing the university, the university's alumni and alumna, as well as the local side, in bid to respectively coordinate and combine their resources into serving the revitalization of the local rural area.

Li Jiutai, who obtained a doctorate from the School of Architecture at Tsinghua, has been selected as the representative of the local side for his achievements in promoting the local development of Dashuipo over the past two years.

"The station gathers more high-end talent, which will have a far-reaching significance in promoting rural development because they will bring ideas and technologies," says Li, 40.

Two years ago, when Tsinghua and the local government signed an agreement to build a base at Dashuipo, Li Jiutai had already started a Design Valley project at the town's Chujia village.