Co-Construction between Schools and Regions, Value Sharing - Exploration of the Rural Revitalization Workstation Model at Tsinghua University

Challenges and Objectives

Dong Zhong Du Village is subordinate to Sishui County, Jining City, Shandong Province. This is the hometown of the famous educator Confucius, with a rich cultural heritage and a beautiful natural environment yet facing challenges in rural sustainable development.

• Insufficient driving force for industrial development. Dongzhongdu Village mainly focuses on planting fruit trees, but due to the lack of irrigation facilities and poor variety, it has not achieved industrial benefits.
• Severe population loss and a high degree of aging in villages.
• Basic education is weak, and educational resources are scarce.
• The village lacks reasonable planning, and its appearance needs improvement.

The objectives of the “Rural Revitalization Workstation” in Dong Zhongdu are led by one of China’s most famous universities, Tsinghua University. Relying on the advantages of the planning and construction discipline of the School of Architecture, we will activate idle and abandoned rural houses through renovation, construction, and reuse, and jointly build physical rural revitalization workstations with local governments to meet functions such as office, entrepreneurship, research and learning, training, conferences, exhibitions, and accommodation. After the physical space is completed, it will serve rural cultural life, rural revitalization education and training, and rural revitalization entrepreneurship incubation, Serving the public welfare needs of supporting agriculture and education, becoming a platform and carrier connecting talents, technology, and resources at Tsinghua University. Through such a physical space and platform, guide teachers and students to root in rural areas and carry out long-term on-site services.

Collaboration Partners and Roles

The main collaboration partners in this project are local government (township and county level, Shandong Rural Revitalization Bureau; Jining Rural Revitalization Bureau, Sishui County Rural Revitalization Bureau, etc.), local farmers, Tsinghua University and other organizations such as United Nations Industrial Development Organization. Tsinghua University is the leading actor initiating the collaboration.

Indigenous Villagers endorse the co-development and co-management partnership with external partners, participate in cooperatives, and provide manpower, land, and village houses (free of charge and at cost) for use in the revitalization process, knowledge, and culture, such as experience in crop cultivation and traditional customs. Dong Zhongdu village has the following cooperatives and interest groups: Village Artists Association, Children's co-educational institutions, Tie-dyeing workshops, etc.

The Village Committee plays an important role in mobilizing villagers, organizing coordination conflicts, promoting government policies, communicating with villagers, and encouraging indigenous villagers to support and participate in the program.

Local governments at different levels support Dong Zhongdu Village’s collaboration with Tsinghua University, help set up the cooperation mechanism and interest linkage mechanism, build up a primary bridge between external associations and user groups, and provide policy guidance and financial support for Dong Zhongdu’s development.

Tsinghua University and external researchers rely on the advantages of the planning and construction discipline of the School of Architecture, activate idle and abandoned rural houses through renovation, new construction, and reuse, and also help design packaging and brand building for local agricultural products.

Rural Revitalization Partnership Alliance is able to provide social capital and link the power of diverse entities.

Entrepreneurs' public welfare funds provide founding technical support, networking opportunities, support on publicity, etc.

Revitalisation Activities

There are three main aspects of revitalization activities – economic, environmental, and socio-cultural. Economic activities in Dong Zhongdu include creating new products based on the local resources (upgrading processing activities; processing of new products, selling of new products); offering new services, such as tourism, to increase income; building regional public brands and improving economic benefits (re-designing local agricultural product packaging).

Environmental activities include the conservation of animal and plant species and building an ecosystem of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, and lakes. Based on the original ecosystem, unified planning is carried out for the ponds, greenery, and other natural landscapes in the village, deeply integrating with the forests and mountains and carrying out natural research activities. A good natural environment provides villagers with a high-quality living environment, and their willingness to protect the environment is becoming increasingly strong.

There are also many socio-cultural activities. The Rural Revitalization Workstation of Tsinghua University - Sishui Workstation is a renovated village building that has been idle for many years and has been in disrepair for a long time. This is not only a grand stage for villagers to carry out cultural and artistic activities but also a comprehensive space for professional training and reading discussions, fully leveraging the value of modern interior design aesthetics in rural cultural inheritance and social integration. At the same time, integrating Confucian culture with the overall planning and design of the Dong Zhongdu village, creating a cultural corridor, enhancing community cohesion, and attracting more people to visit rural areas for sightseeing and tourism, promoting economic development. These measures have further strengthened the connections and cultural identity among villagers.

Revitalisation Outcome

According to the collaborative evaluation led by Tsinghua University, local government, and local farmers, there are three main achievements of this project since the station was completed and put into use in July 2022.

Firstly, Innovate operational management models. The workstation adopts a three-station master operation and management model of "school+local+alumni". The school station master is responsible for organizing campus resources to support local development, the local station master is responsible for the daily operation of the station and the integration and integration of local resources, and the alumni station master is responsible for linking local surrounding resources to jointly help local development, ensuring the long-term operation of the workstation.

Secondly, Promote the cultural and tourism industry to empower rural revitalization. Based on the new needs of the cultural and tourism market, we aim to create a cultural and creative product development model led by the government, guided by enterprises, designed by universities, and participated by villagers in order to continuously enhance the competitiveness of the cultural and tourism industry in Sishui.

Thirdly, Promote industrial integration. On the basis of being rooted in rural areas and carrying out practical activities, the members of the support team benefit the needs of the people and drive industrial development through innovative products. In response to the development of characteristic agricultural products in Sishui, the cultural and creative team of the practice team designed related "mugwort" cultural and creative products with "wild creativity" as the theme and designed 20 cultural and creative works such as "tiger bites melon" and "a small Su". The Sishui Station Cultural and Creative Product Exhibition was held, and through live streaming, local agricultural products were helped to expand sales and accelerate the pace of branding.