XI'AN, June 12 (Xinhua) -- More than 30 universities have issued plans to help rural areas revitalize, and 13 universities have established schools to study rural vitalization, said the Ministry of Education (MOE) Wednesday.

The ministry issued a five-year (2018-2022) action plan in January, which requires higher education institutions to have better ability to support rural areas through innovation and train a number of professionals who understand agriculture, love the countryside and are deeply connected to farmers.

Thirty-nine universities have established more than 300 experimental stations, over 500 academicians and expert workstations, and 1,400 agricultural promotion demonstration zones and special industrial bases, providing services for over 1,700 enterprises related to agriculture, said Lei Chaozi, director of the Department of Science and Technology of MOE, at a press conference.