From May 8 to 11, 16 foreign researchers and practitioners in rural construction from 6 countries including Britain, Netherlands, France, Italy, Belgium and Brazil conducted a field study on rural vitalization in the grassroots of Qingshen County, Meishan City, Sichuan Province, in which they gave in-depth investigations on the themes of local rural mutual cooperation, diversified industrial development, new agricultural production and management entities, women's participation in rural governance, and caring for the left-behind population, etc. The delegation activity was led by Associate Professor Pan Lu of the Department of Sociology and Zheng Yuyang, the Foreign Affairs Secretary of the college. Some graduate volunteers participated in the organization and coordination.

In Anjiaba Village, Hebazi Town, Qingshen County, foreign experts visited the "Women's Home" in the community, listened to the status of women's participation in the implementation of the strategy for rural vitalization of the village's two committees, visited some farmers engaged in manual weaving and fishpond operation, and learned about the development of the village's characteristic handicraft industry and fishery. In Baijiachi Village of Gaotai Town, they visited the Ponkan (a kind of orange) Industrial Park, featuring "one garden, two zones and three bases", and had an in-depth understanding of the development of the local Ponkan industry, the construction of standardized orchards, and the return of college students to run family Ponkan orchards, etc. Based on the history and practice of agricultural and rural development in their respective countries, foreign experts shared their experiences with Baijiachi Village Committee, cooperatives and family farmers in terms of cooperative organizations, agricultural landscapes and geographical indications, etc., and put forward some suggestions on local agricultural development. In Huangjue Village, Ruifeng Town, foreign experts visited vineyards, tea gardens and silkworm farms, experienced the picking activities in local family farms and had exchanges with farmers, expressing full recognition of the actions of new agricultural production and management entities and the diversified development modes of village-level industries. They also visited Qingshen International Bamboo Weaving Art Exhibition Hall.

On the afternoon of May 10, relevant leaders of the County Party Committee, County Government, Agriculture and Rural Development Bureau and Women's Federation of Qingshen County held a discussion with the foreign experts. Yang Dezhi, Deputy Secretary of the County Party Committee gave a detailed introduction to foreign experts on the status of agricultural and rural development in Qingshen County, the implementation of the strategy of rural vitalization and the results of the action. Associate Professor Pan Lu introduced the "four series" actions currently being carried out in COHD to serve the strategy of rural vitalization. Foreign expert representatives expressed their feelings and thoughts on the rural vitalization action in Qingshen County. Professor Jan Douwe van der Ploeg of the Wageningen University believed that China's agricultural development mode is unique and cannot be replicated, while Qingshen's agricultural development mode, rural industry development and farmers' lifestyle fully present its characteristics and innovations. At the same time, he pointed out that encouraging young people to return to countryside to develop rural agriculture, supporting the development of diversified industries in rural areas by the government, and attaching importance of giving full play to the role of new professional farmers are three crucial common experiences of rural development in countries. Guilherme Cassel, former Minister of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in Brazil greatly appreciated the efforts of Qingshen’s farmers in maximizing land utilization and output value, and stressed the need to pay attention to the protection of agricultural ecological environment. Douwe Hoogland, Vice Chairman of the Labor Party and Chairman of the Forestland Conservation Cooperative in Friesland, Netherlands, cited examples of cooperation between Dutch farmers and the government, believing that smallholder agriculture has great development potential and advantages. Associate Professor Pierluigi Milone of the University of Perugia in Italy pointed out that comparing the agricultural development of Qingshen County with that of Italy, it can be found that the large-scale agricultural management mode is not the most effective, while the small-scale agricultural management mode, which upholds the concept of sustainable development and focuses on consolidating its own advantages, is more effective and has multiple functions. Vincent Delobel, a young Belgian organic farmer, said that he was deeply impressed by farmers' love for agriculture and the government's various support and measures for agricultural development in Qingshen County, and stressed the importance of supporting farmers' ability development and rights protection for agriculture and rural development.

Prior to the research of Qingshen, foreign experts participated in the "International Conference on Rural Vitalization" organized and held by COHD on May 6 and 7, and discussed and exchanged national policies and actions on rural construction. Through the field research in Qingshen County, a delegation of foreign experts have a more intuitive understanding of the status of China's agriculture and rural development in the new era, have gained a deeper understanding of China's rural vitalization strategy, and have fully affirmed China's plan and wisdom for rural development.

Qingshen County, Meishan City, Sichuan Province, is located on the southwestern margin of Chengdu Plain. It has the reputation of Su Shi's Second Hometown, Land of Ponkan in China and Hometown of Chinese Bamboo Weaving Art. Qingshen County has been cooperating with COHD for more than 10 years, in which the two parties have conducted extensive cooperative actions in caring for the rural left-behind population and the development of rural communities, and it is one of the important bases for COHD to carry out rural vitalization experiments. The smooth development of this research has received strong support from the County Party Committee, County Government and Women's Federation of Qingshen County. In particular, the County Women's Federation has provided all-round assistance in arranging contacts, organizing coordination and publicity, etc., and farmers from many local villages, village committees and township governments have also given warm reception.