BEIJING, May 4 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has called on the country's college graduates to volunteer for work in the country's underdeveloped western regions.

"In recent years, many young people with ambitions and responsibilities have chosen to work diligently and devote themselves to the western region, contributing to local economic and social development and ethnic unity," Xi wrote in a letter that was made public Saturday.

Xi's letter was addressed to college graduates who volunteered to teach in western regions upon graduation from Baoding University in north China's Hebei Province.

With the president praising their passion and encouraging more young people to make achievements at the grassroots level, the letter bolstered the dedication of many graduates who have become village workers on Sunday, which marked Youth Day in China.

"It's incredible that he replied in such a short time. It has further strengthened our determination to base our lives in Tibet," said Yue Gang, who graduated from university in 2002.

Yue said that heavy snow had cut off electricity in the school where he works, and he was informed of Xi's letter by others from the school via a fixed phone, as cell phones and the Internet were both unavailable there.

Xi wrote the letter in reply after Yue and his peers sent a letter to him in early April about their work as well as their feelings and thoughts about life in the region.

Hundreds of thousands of college graduates have offered their services in the countryside since the "College to Village" campaign started in 2008.

Pang Shengli chose to teach in a county in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2000 after graduating from the same university, and now he is the father of a nine-year-old.

"His reply encouraged me to keep going with my teaching here, and I feel my life is very meaningful," said Pang.

Huang Tingjun, who chose to work in western China as a postgraduate from the Ocean University of China, said Xi's letter pointed a direction for those seeking jobs.

"On one hand, the employment situation is very grave. On the other, the western regions do not have enough high-quality talent. Xi's letter encouraged us to go west to the grassroots level to realize our youthful dreams," Huang said.