Xu Lu stands beside a truck loaded with parcels in Shifang, southwest China's Sichuan Province on March 14, 2016. [sina.com.cn]

Xu Lu, a graduate of the prestigious Peking University, quit her white-collar job in Beijing and went back to her hometown Shifang, a small city in Sichuan Province.

Xu started her own business by investing in Yuantong Express, one of China's largest express delivery companies, and now she has her own franchise.

She says in addition to directing her business, she also has to send express parcels herself. She says now she can carry a 50kg box all by herself.

However, Xu notes she is very happy to be close to her family and has not regretted her decision to leave Beijing.

Her company now employs over 20 staff, most of whom were born in the 1980s, just like her.

A research project by China's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security surveyed 500 villages in ten Chinese provinces. The survey found the number of people starting their own businesses in rural areas during the first half of 2015 has grown by 3.1 percent from the same period in 2014.

Currently, China has about 2 million migrant workers who have returned home to start their own businesses.

(Source: CRIENGLISH.com)

Editor: Eileen Cheng(CRIENGLISH.com)