Tsinghua University's Zhang Shuming (third from left) and Han Haoqing (right), along with Dashuipo town official Liu Wenguang (front), communicate with local residents. [Photo by Zhao Ruixue/China Daily]

Following him, a total of 33 people have come to Chujia village to rent abandoned houses and renovated them into ones with modern features. These people are now considered as new residents of the village.

Dashuipo has convenient transportation links close to both the local airport and railway station, "and the town government welcomes us with open arms", says Li Jiutai. He has brought his wife and two children to live in the village.

During the past two years, Li Jiutai and his friends have designed tourism packages for the village. They also registered brands for the sweet potatoes grown by villagers. The agricultural products are sold to major cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai.

Li Jiutai is now working on cooperating with a research center affiliated to Tsinghua University to build a research center on city development in Weihai.

"In Chujia village, the youngest adult villager is 55 years old (because young people have mostly gone to big cities to work).There are no young people to develop the village, and this is the biggest problem for such places. The Wendeng station will gather more people, including students, here," he says.

"Although the Wendeng station was only put into service in August, it provides a good start for us. With persistent effort, I believe we will see great changes in the villages, not only in their appearance, but also in their economies and the lifestyle of the residents," says Zhang.