More than 8,000 villages on the Chinese mainland have each
generated wealth of 100 million yuan (US$13.3 million) or more
since the first of its kind emerged in 1987, according to a latest
survey.
The villages, including 11 ones whose gross domestic product
surpasses 10 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion) each, create a total of
1.6 trillion yuan of wealth, show the statistics from the Chinese
Association for Promoting Township and Village Development.
The survey shows more than 60 percent of the 100-million-yuan
villages are located in eastern developed regions such as Beijing,
Shanghai, Tianjin, Jiangsu, Guangdong and Zhejiang.
The development of the villages is mainly driven by special
farming and raising industries, heavy industries, tourism, trade
and commerce, it says.
Daqiu village in the suburbs of Tianjin became the first
100-million-yuan village in 1987 on the Chinese mainland, driven by
industries such as steel and printing since the country started
economic reform and opening-up policy in 1978.
In 2003, Huaxi village, in east China's Jiangsu Province, became
the first village to generate 10 billion yuan of gross domestic
product.
China now has 600,000 villages.
"The rich villages will play an active role in driving the
underdeveloped rural areas in China through economic strength and
experience," said Yang Yongzhe, a consultant to the
association.
But many of them also face a change of development mode from
relying on labor-intensive or steel and chemical industries to
developing high-tech industries, Yang said.
(Xinhua News Agency November 5, 2007)