In search of strategies for rural revitalization in China: Puhan’s approach to sustainable community development

Abstract

Abstract Despite the central government’s rural reconstruction programme targeting rural villages, rural communities in contemporary China continue to face massive social, economic, and environmental challenges. This paper reports on a case study of a farmers’ cooperative in Puhan. Continual rural decline, alongside national economic reform and rural community development, provide the context for the case study. Well known to rural community development scholars in China, the Puhan cooperative represents an island of rural revitalization in a sea of rural decline. The paper begins with a discussion of the background to the study, the research design and objectives, and participatory observation method employed. Thereafter, it discusses sustainable community development and provides an analysis of the way in which the community development approach facilitates the attainment of sustainable development goals generally and in Puhan in particular. Focusing on the broader context of rural development in the context of national top-down policy-driven change, it examines the Puhan cooperative’s contribution to rural revitalization and the strengths and challenges encountered, given its adoption of bottom-up, grassroots community development. By outlining the lessons learnt from this case study research, the paper aims to enrich knowledge on the community development approach, sustainable community development, and rural revitalization in contemporary China.