(ECNS) -- From drought-stricken cornfields to blocked views and dangerous roads, residents in southwest China's Sichuan Province are turning to a government mini program to report problems and receive quick feedback. The digital tool is streamlining grassroots governance and making daily life more convenient.
Wei Jiayao, 21, grew up in Jiangsu and seldom returned to her ancestral village in Sichuan except for occasional holidays. That changed during this year's Dragon Boat Festival, when He Yong, the Party branch secretary of Tianxingmo Village in Mianyang City, invited her to join the local digital platform "Chuan Shan Zhi."
Skeptical about a digitized initiative in a village largely populated by elderly residents, she registered nonetheless, becoming a "digital villager" of a place she barely knew.
Looking at photos uploaded by residents, Wei said the platform replicated village life. "It's like the WeChat Moments of my hometown," she said.
On the app, some users sell homegrown vegetables, others proudly post their grandchildren's drawings, some praise village officials for quick problem-solving, while others bluntly complain about poor road conditions in local dialect. The program has made daily tasks more convenient for villagers and improved transparency in communication with local officials.
Both reported issues and progress updates are backed by photo evidence, making grassroots governance more efficient. The average time to resolve local problems has been cut by 3.37 days compared with earlier, according to data from the mini program's developer.
As of late June, Mianyang had handled 14,500 service requests and responded to 22,000 public concerns through the mini program, with a satisfaction rate exceeding 95%. It has also facilitated 749 online discussions and decision-making meetings, alongside over 230,000 information updates. A total of 1,834 villages in the city have joined.
For local officials, rural development also brings heavy responsibilities. In Tianxingmo Village, many elderly residents lack smartphones and prefer to call or visit the village office in person.
To ensure their concerns are promptly resolved, Party branch secretary He always handles their requests first before patiently teaching them how to use the platform. "I teach them to use the mini program so they'll know what to do next time," he said.
Posts about the app have drawn significant attention on Chinese social media, with many netizens commenting, "This shows the real picture of rural revitalization efforts."
Wei said the platform gave her a new sense of belonging. "Like many netizens, I've gained a deeper understanding of 'rural revitalization', a term I only encountered in textbooks and news reports. Now, I feel a genuine emotional connection to my hometown."
Launched to enhance grassroots governance efficiency and assist local residents, the platform now serves more than 80,000 villages, covering 16.5 percent of China's administrative centers.
(By Zhang Dongfang)
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