How China’s war on poverty became a personal mission for the man who turned his back on the big city to return home
His parents were distraught when he left the rat race to come back to his mountain village but his work over the past decade is gradually bearing fruit
For many impoverished Chinese families, going to university means the opportunity to rise above their rural background and start building a life and career in the big city, but not for Li Jun.
After four years working at a media company in Chengdu, the capital of the southwestern province of Sichuan, he suddenly jacked it all in to return to the mountain village where he grew up.
The catalyst for his decision to return to Xiuyun village in Guangyuan prefecture was the devastating 2008 earthquake that killed around 69,000 people and caused widespread devastation.
Although no one died in his home village, images of the ruins of people’s houses prompted him to ask why he had to gone to work in the city when he could stay at home and do something for his own people.
The decision was not supported by his parents, who cried as they told him they could not understand why they worked so hard to pay for his university education when he had voluntarily returned to the mountains.
Li, now 33, had started working for the media company while he was still studying at university Chengdu. After four years with the company he had risen to become a deputy general manager with an annual salary of 180,000 yuan (US$28,500).