Wang also went to villages to inspect flood preparations before the rainy season. He said he not only learned invaluable lessons in Xiuwen, but was also inspired by the cadres.

The head of the local publicity department had been diagnosed with cancer two years before, but she insisted on continuing to work.

"Once, I saw her in a cold sweat - she couldn't even stand upright while she spoke on the phone. She died in January. She was in her 50s, and her child was still in university, but that wasn't why she continued to work. It was more a sense of dedication, and she wanted to do her work to the best of her ability," he recalled.

"Before, I thought I failed to give good lectures because my knowledge was incomplete, but after a year in Xiuwen I realized that it was because I didn't know much about the officials' real world."

His experience in the county has helped him to understand the needs of the Party School students and how they think. In addition to practical examples, he now includes more ideology and methodology related to the policies of the Communist Party of China's Central Committee in his regular lectures.

Zheng Huan, the political science major, opted to work at the Party School because he believes it offers an unrivaled environment in which to study China and its political realities.

Last year, as deputy head of Zunyi, a former county which is now a district in Zunyi city, Guizhou, he participated in many meetings, including one related to the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20). He regularly visited rural areas to learn about the operations of grassroots committees, which gave him a clear picture of the structure and operations of local government.

"The Party attaches the greatest importance to the grassroots. Many local cadres work very hard, day and night, and even at weekends. It would be hard to find officials as dedicated in other countries," he said.

Zheng was moved by many of the cadres he met during his time in the countryside, especially Huang Dafa, Party secretary of Tuanjie, a village in Zunyi.

The 82-year-old spent more than a decade leading his fellow villagers in efforts to construct an irrigation canal, with more than 7 kilometers running across a cliff face.

In Zheng's opinion, China boasts many examples of good governance, such as the partner-assistance system, in which developed cities provide assistance to less-developed areas.

"I think it's my duty to do more research into the county's cadre groups and grassroots political practices. Why was the reform and opening-up policy successful? What is the key to the success of China's system of governance? I want to find the answers to these questions, and show them to the world. Many of China's experiences, for example in poverty alleviation, could be instructive to other developing countries."