A growing wave of urban professionals, college graduates and migrant workers are returning to their hometowns in rural China to start businesses. By early 2025, over 12 million people had returned to the countryside to launch ventures, according to official statistics.

This "returning-home entrepreneurship" movement is a key part of China's rural revitalization strategy. Since 2015, the Central Government has issued multiple policy guidelines to support this trend. Starting in 2016, national pilot programs were rolled out in 341 counties, helping returnees establish local businesses. Over the past decade, this influx of talent and energy has visibly transformed rural areas—a shift reflected in the surge of livestreams showcasing local farming, livestock and tourism.

In the process of modernization, mass migration to cities has left many rural areas depleted and aging—a challenge faced by nations worldwide. As China continues its modernization, the question emerges: Who will farm the land and revitalize the countryside? The growing trend of returning home to start businesses is emerging as China's answer.

The Chinese Government is pursuing a two-pronged strategy to bolster rural talent. It is enhancing farmers' technical skills and expanding programs like the Rural Craftspeople Training Program to build a strong, local professional base. Simultaneously, it focuses on attracting external talent to meet urgent rural development needs by improving the entrepreneurial environment and launching targeted service projects.

In recent years, upgraded transportation and living conditions have amplified the countryside's intrinsic appeal. The good ecology, slower pace of life and lower costs are now unique advantages actively drawing a new generation back to their hometowns. Returning home to launch new businesses is a powerful engine for rural revitalization. Leveraging market mechanisms and fostering technological innovation can spur growth in the rural economy and help rebalance urban-rural resource distribution.

These entrepreneurial ventures typically center on local specialties, from agricultural processing and eco-tourism to traditional handicrafts, cuisine and folk culture. This focus creates a virtuous cycle: It generates local jobs, boosts economic growth and increases tax revenue, which in turn funds better infrastructure.

Returning entrepreneurs do more than drive the economy. They help protect rural intangible cultural heritage, preserve fading elements of agricultural civilization and, ultimately, strengthen local cultural identity and pride.