Liu Yahui is an employee of Alibaba, the China-based e-commerce and technology company that offers various services and products to businesses worldwide. As a sci-tech expert sent by his company to rural areas of China, in 2020 and 2021, Liu joined in the revitalization efforts in Yijun County, a former revolutionary base in northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Liu's wife, Li Xiaoqian, works with Zhejiang Lab, in east China's Zhejiang Province, on an extraterrestrial-exploration project (involving research into the space beyond Earth and its atmosphere). In their respective posts, Liu and Li have combined to write a "most beautiful" career chapter in the new era.

Down to Earth

Liu joined Alibaba in 2016. He has since focused on work related to the Internet and inclusive finance, which refers to individuals and businesses having access to useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs. 

In keeping with the important instructions of Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on the implementation of the system of sending sci-tech experts to rural areas, Alibaba in 2019 launched a program to send senior employees to national-level, poverty-stricken counties, so the employees can help the counties shake off poverty and boost rural revitalization. 

Liu relocated to Yijun County in 2020. After he began working in Yijun, which is on the Loess Plateau, Liu introduced to local farmers a cooperative-logistics platform (developed by Alibaba) to reduce, significantly, the cost of shipping parcels from the county. 

Within two years, the cost of sending each parcel decreased from 10 yuan (US $1.39) to 1.9 yuan (26 US cents), at least. Through a public-welfare project launched by Alibaba, Liu helped the farmers improve the branding of their agricultural products, which helped increase the farmers' combined incomes by 30 million yuan (US $4.17 million). The combined trade volume of sellers in Yijun, who operated e-commerce businesses on Taobao (one of Alibaba's major online business groups), increased from 1.73 million yuan (US $240,278) to 69.57 million yuan (US $9.66 million) between 2019 and 2021. In particular, the trade volume of Yijun-grown apples increased from 29,000 yuan (US $4,028) to 22.56 million yuan (US $3.13 million). 

With support from his company, Liu helped young people in Yijun obtain artificial-intelligence-development training. He also helped establish a wig plant in the county, which provided jobs to rural women, so they could earn a living in their hometown. 

Shortly after Liu arrived in Yijun, he placed a board on his desk, and that board recorded how many days he would remain in the county. Why? He wanted to keep count of the days, so he could make full use of his time and he could do something to help residents in the county. Liu has been named "an individual in Tongchuan, Shaanxi Province, who stands out in the poverty-alleviation campaign" and "a model worker of Yijun County." He was also a torchbearer during the torch relay of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. 

Beyond Earth

In May 2021, Li applied for a three-year transfer to Zhejiang Lab's research center in Beijing. Prior to submitting her application, she and her colleagues traveled to Yardang landform, in Dahaidao, Hami City, in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. There, they collected 12 boxes of sand and stone samples. The landform in Dahaidao is believed to resemble the surface of Mars, and collecting the samples was helpful to the team in conducting extraterrestrial research. 

Even though it meant living apart from her family and friends, Li believed she made the right — and meaningful — choice, because she was contributing to the progress of China's scientific research.

Love and Support

"My parents often say if our small family is harmonious, the big family (our society) will be harmonious," Liu says. He notes his parents, despite their advanced ages, still hold hands when they go for a walk. He says his parents continue to set a good example for the younger generations of the family. 

Just like their parents, Liu and Li love and support each other. At the beginning of 2020, as they were preparing for their wedding, Liu told Li he wanted to participate in Alibaba's program of sending sci-tech experts to rural areas. As a newlywed, Li of course did not like the idea of Liu leaving home, but she supported him. They registered for marriage in March 2020; one month later, Li helped Liu pack for his relocation to Yijun. 

One year later, Liu supported Li when she told Liu she wanted to apply for the research post in Beijing. While living apart, the young couple has kept in touch mainly via phone calls and video chats. They have encouraged each other to cope with the various difficulties they have encountered in work and daily life. 

Liu and Li share a common belief: Be a person who contributes to society, who brings a certain value to society, and who "shines" at his/her post, to bring warmth to others. Given the support they have continuously received from each other, they are brave enough to make the significant choices in their lives. Last year, the couple celebrated a particularly joyous occasion, when their family was selected a National Most Beautiful Family.

Photos from Interviewees

Source: Department of Family and Children's Affairs of the ACWF

(Women of China English Monthly July 2024)

Editor: Wang Shasha