Wang He heads to the fields in the morning with the peasants. He knows how to work the crops: watering, fertilizing, weeding. But when he graduated from Beijing University of Agriculture two years ago, the law and politics major had dreamed of becoming a lawyer.

He's an assistant to the head of Sanjie Village, Kangzhuang Township in Beijing's Yanqing County, under the Chinese government scheme to employ 100,000 college graduates in villages over five years from 2008.

The scheme aims to revitalize rural China by changing the grassroots cardre structure and boosting the government's "new countryside" initiative. It also helps to employ the nation's rising tide of graduates.

"Our strong point is our knowledge, but we also have our weakness -- a lack of practical experience," says Wang, 26.

Most villagers hope the graduates can bring new expertise to improve their living standards.

Wang introduced the "colorful sweet potato" with the help of his alma mater. The new species has bright yellow, white and purple flesh and is highly nutritious. It also costs more than the ordinary sweet potato.

Villagers previously planted corn and earned less than 1,000 yuan (142.86 U.S. dollars) per mu (0.07 hectares), but the figure doubled after they planted the new sweet potato species.

Wang often works in the fields, but he knows he's of little help. "Peasants are much more adept at farming, that's their strong point. It's pointless for graduates to focus on farm work. We should do something they want to do, but they can not do."

He focuses on technology, marketing, publicity and connecting with the outside world. His routine work is chores, such as recording village meetings, issuing certificates and broadcasting notices.

He also applies his legal knowledge to mediate in conflicts between the villagers and help write legal papers.

Real life is different from what he learnt in books. "Mediating conflicts between neighbors needs more worldly wisdom than legal knowledge. Sometimes laws are useless here," Wang says.

The experiences give the young first-hand understanding of rural China, which still lags far behind urban China.

"Urban people might struggle to buy an apartment or a car, but the peasants struggle for basic necessities like food and clothes. A child can consume all their savings and put them into debt," says Wang.

"But rural China is experiencing a golden period of growth with preferential policies from the government and promises of a bigger market."

Two years have seasoned Wang. "I was too idealistic and believed all the things I planned could come true, but now I'm more practical."

After three years in villages, the graduates enjoy priority in applying for public service posts and graduate study opportunities.

"Chinese peasants are leading too hard a life," says Wang. "They labor from dawn to dusk, but do not get the returns they deserve. I want to maximize their returns, particularly as my parents are peasants too. As long as I'm needed here, I will continue with the job."