BEIJING, Sept. 14, 2024 — Jiangcun Academy, an educational project aimed at honoring and promoting the legacy of renowned Chinese sociologist Fei Xiaotong, is under construction in Kaixiangong Village, Wujiang District in Suzhou City of east China’s Jiangsu Province.

The project has been attracting significant attention from the academic community and the public since it began in February of this year.

Kaixiangong Village, also known as “Jiangcun”, is renowned for Fei Xiaotong’s extensive research. He visited the village 26 times between 1936 and 2002 and authored seminal works such as “Peasant Life in China” and “From the Soil: The Foundations of Chinese Society”, making the village a crucial window for studying rural China.

The construction of the project is not only an homage to Fei’s spirit of inquiry but also a positive response to the rural revitalization initiative. The academy is poised to become a nationally significant social survey base, a social science laboratory, and a training demonstration base for rural revitalization with international influence.

The project spans an area of 35.5 mu (nearly 2.67 hectares), encompassing teaching buildings and supporting facilities. Upon completion, the teaching building will accommodate 300 students for teaching, discussion, and office use. It is expected to be completed and operational by next June.

Jiangcun Academy will establish one base and four centers: the Chinese modernization Jiangcun research base, the international social science research center, the economic and social survey and experimental center, the rural revitalization training and demonstration center, and the cultural heritage and innovation center.

The academy will focus on teaching and research on urban and rural integration, rural revitalization, social governance, and cultural heritage, aiming to generate influential and replicable theoretical findings.

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