A total of 23,520 Chinese university students volunteered in rural areas last year in the fields of education, farming, medicine and poverty reduction, according to the Ministry of Personnel.

It included more than 10,000 students teaching in rural areas, 8,000 students "assisting agriculture", 2,800 medical students offering help in rural medicine and 2,200 helping in poverty alleviation, according to the latest ministry figures.

There was an equal balance of male and female students, with 23 percent members of the Communist Party of China and 73 percent members of the Communist Youth League, it shows, adding 46 percent of students had bachelor degrees and 1.8 percent had post-graduate degrees.

More Chinese college students have been willing to serve in rural areas in recent years, especially as it is often difficult for new graduates to find jobs without any work experience.

(Xinhua News Agency October 8, 2007)