Members of the Communist Party of China (CPC) review the Party admission oath beside the replica of a boat, now referred to as the Red Boat, on which CPC founders concluded their meeting in 1921, on Nanhu Lake in Jiaxing, east China's Zhejiang Province, June 30, 2025. (Xinhua/Xu Yu)

Despite a packed schedule of exams and final papers at the end of the semester, Ling Jiajun still makes time every day to read online articles carried by Qiushi, a flagship magazine of the Communist Party of China (CPC), learning about the latest policies on rural development.

Studying urban-rural planning at Nanjing Tech University in east China's Jiangsu Province, the 22-year-old applied to join the CPC two years ago, and hopes to work on rural revitalization after graduation.

During his field research in Chinese villages earlier this year, Ling, who was born in the metropolis of Guangzhou, was moved by what he saw in the countryside.

Like many young Chinese people, Ling felt inspired by and proud of the Party's rural work -- from 2013 to 2020, China lifted nearly 99 million rural residents out of poverty, contributing to over 70 percent of global poverty reduction during that period.

To consolidate its achievements in poverty alleviation, the Party is now implementing a revitalization strategy in the countryside.

"The CPC has been the driving force behind this transformation. I remember reading in high school about how young CPC members, many of whom were college graduates, went to the countryside to support local communities in those years," Ling said.

"There's still so much work to do in the villages, and I want to be part of what comes next," he added.

Like Ling, a growing number of young Chinese people are applying for Party membership, inspired by the Party's ideals and the country's development prospects.