Chongqing - The decline of the humanities is a global issue, with universities worldwide facing a reduction in student interest in these fields. For instance, over the past decade, the proportion of students majoring in arts and humanities at Harvard University has steadily decreased, from 15.5% to 12.5%, while the proportion at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) has risen from 15.2% to 22.1%. 

This trend is not limited to Harvard. According to a report by China's Zhilian Recruitment in 2024, engineering graduates command the highest salaries, occupying 41 of the top 50 positions, further signaling the growing preference for technical fields among students.

Students learn about recruiting information at a campus job fair at Southwest University in Chongqing. (Photo/Qin Tingfu)

However, Chongqing, a major city in Southwest China, is proactively addressing this trend and creating new opportunities for humanities graduates. In April 2024, Chongqing launched the "Million University Graduates and Other Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship Action Plan (2024–2027)," emphasizing tapping into new industries, new business formats, and new models to drive employment. In a sense, this plan encourages humanities students to seize the opportunity of Chongqing’s transformation into a youth-friendly city, which offers a fertile ground for emerging industries and cultural innovation.

One example of this is Wu Anqi, a graduate of the Central Academy of Drama and a pioneer of applied theatre in Chongqing. Applied theatre uses dramatic techniques to explore and solve specific social issues, such as psychological therapy, community building, and knowledge dissemination. Wu's work in the city has been instrumental in fostering community development through theatre. In 2024, she led a storytelling workshop in Chongqing's Houbao community, where participants, primarily elderly residents, shared stories to uncover and preserve their community's collective memory. "Storytelling, organized and thematic, can serve to unite people in the community," Wu said.

Wu Anqi is holding her storytelling workshop with Houbao's locals (Photo/Wu Anqi)

Chongqing University, traditionally known for its engineering and technical education, has also made significant strides in expanding its humanities disciplines. In 2013, the university established the Liberal Arts College to foster interdisciplinary talent in the humanities. In 2024, the university reorganized its humanities departments by dissolving its previous research centers and creating separate departments for Chinese Language and Literature, History, and Philosophy, signaling its commitment to strengthening these disciplines in the long term.

Jiangfeng Theatre Market in Huangjueping was a major local cultural event in 2023 (Photo/Hu Yin)

The city's approach highlights humanity disciplines' cultural significance and potential economic value. In 2023, Hu Yin, a theatre producer and curator from Chongqing, organized the "Jiangfeng Theatre Market" in Chongqing, which became a major event in the local cultural and tourism scene that year. "The humanities are a knowledge system that explores what it means to be human," Hu said. "I regret that they are gradually falling apart, but perhaps it will eventually merge with other disciplines in some ways."