| 2001 | PCD’s first project was organised in the summer of 2001. Co-organised with the Institute of Sociology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the project enabled PCD to define its strategy and role in China’s development community. |
| 2002 | PCD mapped out the focus of its strategic programme and defined its geographical priorities in its first 2002-2005 Strategic Plan, which was formulated and approved in June 2002 after a series of consultations with a wide spectrum of stakeholders in Hong Kong and China.
PCD decided to prioritise working in the provinces of Yunnan, Guangxi, Sichuan and Guizhou in Southwest China, and Guangdong. National and regional initiatives were developed in major municipalities including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. |
| 2003 | PCD embarked on programmes that included providing support to rural-to-urban migrant workers before and after their migration; training workshops on appropriate traditional practices and values for rural communities and effective livelihood strategies as well as learning on community supported agriculture for urban-based groups and individuals as a platform to reflect on sustainable living. |
| 2004 | As of March, a total of 50 initiatives had been developed, addressing themes such as training in participatory techniques and action research, learning indigenous knowledge and culture, rural governance, sustainable agriculture, community supported agriculture, promotion of volunteerism and capacity building of NGOs and small community groups. In July, the first PCD provincial programme office was set up in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. |
| 2005 | In early 2005, PCD launched a new 3-year strategic planning process. PCD’s 2005-2008 programme focused on the themes of cultural reflection, eco-health and sustainable living. Emphasis was placed on inter-programme learning to create suitable informed and effective programme approaches. PCD decided to prioritise work in five provinces in South and Southwest China: Yunnan, Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou and Guangdong. In October, PCD organised a conference in Guangxi to reflect on the relationship between traditional culture & rural construction. The conference was well attended by about 100 people, and the views and experiences shared formed the basis of our Chinese publication: “The Earth in Deep Thoughts”. |
| 2006 | Another provincial programme office was set up in Guiyang, Guizhou Province, to coordinate and manage PCD’s gradually-expanding programmes. |
| 2007 | The phasing out of the Rural Urban Migration Programme was completed by the end of the year. It was decided that migration as a programme focus should be integrated into existing rural programmes.
A programme review and long term planning exercise was conducted. As a result, the 2005-2008 Strategic Plan was extended for another two years until 2010, taking on a more focused approach with cultural reflection as one of PCD’s primary themes. |
| 2008 | As of March, a total of 191 projects have been implemented. These initiatives, in both rural and urban settings, work in the context of enhancing the integration of traditional cultural values and practices to build sustainable ways of living. While nurturing community facilitators remains a priority, PCD’s capacity in sustainable agriculture has been strengthened with a new posting and closer collaboration with resource people from other countries. A provincial programme office was set up in Kunming, Yunnan Province. In response to the severe earthquake in Sichuan, PCD works with the affected community in livelihoods restoration and cultural rehabilitation. |