Chinese Rural Experience Transforms Indonesian Village
When Hendrik Dwi Martono became village chief of Purwosono in East Java, Indonesia, in 2017, his village was classified as “less developed” — the lowest of five levels in Indonesia’s Village Development Index. Less than a decade later, Purwosono has achieved the highest classification of “independent village,” and its transformation began with a study trip to China. As reported by CCTV, the village’s remarkable journey illustrates how the Indonesian Rural Cadre Training Program — a collaboration between the Chinese Embassy in Indonesia and the Indonesian Ministry of Villages — is reshaping rural communities across the archipelago.
A Program Born of Cooperation
The Indonesian Rural Cadre Training Program, also known as the Village Chief Program, was officially launched in 2019. Each year, 20 to 30 Indonesian village chiefs are selected to visit and study in China, learning about agricultural modernization, rural governance, public services, and industrial development. By 2024, the program had held four sessions, with over 100 Indonesian village chiefs experiencing China’s rural development firsthand. The fifth session, launched in early November 2025, brought 26 participants to Shandong Province to study agricultural machinery, rural education, skills training, and infrastructure development, according to Xinhua.
From Study Trip to Village Revival
Hendrik participated in the 2023 session, visiting Beijing, Hangzhou, Wuyuan, and Shanghai in October of that year. “This learning experience was very valuable,” he told People’s Daily. “China’s comprehensive rural revitalization is inspiring. I have been thinking about how to apply what I learned to my hometown’s development.”
What he saw in China’s villages — modern infrastructure, thriving industries, and well-managed public spaces — offered a new vision for his own community of more than 4,000 residents across four hamlets.
A Volleyball League Inspired by Guizhou’s Village Super League
Purwosono and its neighboring villages have a deep passion for volleyball. Drawing inspiration from China’s Guizhou Village Super League, Hendrik organized a cross-village volleyball league. “In China, rural sports are no longer just competitions — they can unite neighbors and stimulate village vitality,” he explained.
After securing government funding in 2024, Hendrik built a national-standard volleyball court with spectator seating. In 2025, the volleyball village super league attracted teams from more than 30 neighboring villages, with the tournament lasting nearly a month. The final night drew approximately 2,000 spectators, who overflowed the stands and required temporary additional seating. The event also created new opportunities for young people — the son of villager Slamet, whose team won the championship, was subsequently selected for provincial-level training.
“The Purwosono volleyball court is the best village-level court in Lumajang Regency,” said Nurman Riyadi, head of the Youth and Sports Office of Lumajang Regency. He expressed hope that the league would help cultivate more outstanding athletes in the region.
From Garbage Dump to ‘Cooling Creek’
Perhaps the most dramatic transformation came from environmental renewal. Inspired by water management practices in Dongziguan Village, Hangzhou, Hendrik mobilized villagers to clean a polluted stream that had long served as an open garbage dump. “The entire village is surrounded by water, whether it’s the water surface or the streets, everything is spotless, and garbage is sorted and disposed of properly,” he recalled. “Our Chinese friends are doing a great job, and I want my hometown to catch up.”
The collective effort transformed the area into a recreational space with walkways, pavilions, a children’s swimming pool, and a fishing pond — now known as Cooling Creek (Kali Sejuk). Health inspector Arshad noted that because “everyone has invested their heart and soul” in the project, residents feel a deep sense of responsibility for protecting the ecosystem.
A Village Office Reimagined
The village office was also systematically renovated to serve multiple functions: a grassroots civil affairs center, public meeting space, cultural display area, education hub, and village promotion platform. Named the People’s Palace (Istana Rakyat), it carries the motto “From the People, By the People, For the People.” Villager Fatima, who runs a small restaurant nearby, said the renovated office has drawn more visitors, boosting her business.
Beyond Purwosono: A Model for Rural Indonesia
The impact extends well beyond Purwosono. The village’s success has inspired neighboring communities to strengthen infrastructure, clean waterways, and develop sports activities. A neighboring village has already built its own sports field, with hopes of rotating the hosting of village super league events.
Indonesian officials have taken notice. “Exchange between Indonesian and Chinese villages and village chiefs is crucial,” said Sugito, special assistant to the Indonesian Ministry of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration. “China has many successful experiences in rural development that are worth learning from, and Indonesia will absorb them according to its national conditions.”
The program has also produced results in other villages. In Sukajaya, West Java, village chief Deden Gunaefi, a 2019 program participant, developed greenhouse agriculture — the “Kampung Melon” — after studying advanced farming techniques in China, as detailed by ANTARA News.
Village-Level Diplomacy on the International Stage
In April 2026, Hendrik presented at an Indonesia-China international cooperation forum at Hotel Mulia Senayan in Jakarta, attended by Chinese Embassy representatives, the Chairman of the MPR RI, the Minister of Transmigration, and Ministry of Villages officials. His presentation, “Purwosono Rebound,” showcased the village’s development leap after the China benchmarking program. “This is proof that villages can engage in diplomacy,” he said, as reported by AJM Group Media. “If villages are strong, Indonesia is strong. If villages go global, Lumajang rises in class.”
A Broader Partnership
The village chief program is part of a much larger China-Indonesia relationship that spans infrastructure, trade, and people-to-people connectivity. As Women of China reported, 2025 marked the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, with landmark projects including the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway, which has transported over 12 million passengers, and the Batang Industrial Special Economic Zone.
What to Watch For
As the program enters its sixth year, the cumulative impact of more than 100 trained village chiefs could create significant ripple effects across Indonesia’s approximately 80,000 villages. Hendrik is already planning next steps: organizing villagers into groups by industry — livestock, agriculture, and light manufacturing — to boost incomes, and developing tourism facilities around Cooling Creek. “If we do nothing, the results will be mediocre,” he said. “But if we do something unusual with extraordinary passion, the results may be completely different.”
The story of Purwosono demonstrates that development knowledge transfer, when adapted to local conditions, can produce tangible results. As Indonesia continues its own rural development push under the Village Fund program, the lessons from China’s rural revitalization — and the local innovations they inspired — may well shape the future of villages across the archipelago.