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Week In China: Rural Life 'Never Better'
BBC NEWS, CHINA
October 28, 2012: As China prepares for a new generation of leaders to take power, the BBC is spending a week on the road looking at both the challenges ahead for the world's most populous nation and the advances it has made.
On day one the BBC's Martin Patience reports from Shixia, a rural village that lies on the Great Wall, to the north of Beijing.
Day One: Shixia village
Dong Dexiu's wiry frame and sunken eyes are hints of the hardships he has endured during his life. But the exuberant 71-year-old, who sports a mischievous grin, says that the village of Shixia has been transformed in the last decade. "I feel my life now is like living in heaven," he says, standing in his traditional courtyard.
Dozens of yellow corncobs are drying from the branches of tree and there are enormous baskets filled with sorghum and red beans lying on the ground.
"In the past, we often went hungry," he says, holding a cigarette. "But while I'm not wealthy, I now have more than enough."
Mr Dong has experienced the turmoil of recent Chinese history. He was born during the Japanese occupation of China during World War II. He says Japanese soldiers in his village beat one of his uncles to death. His father then died during the Great Famine, which killed tens of million across China, over 50 years ago. And if that was not enough, the chaos of the Cultural Revolution then followed.
It was in the early 1980s that Mr Dong says he first saw the seeds of change, when farmers in the village were allowed to sell their own vegetables for cash. Since then, he says, his life has only got better, particularly in the last 10 years.
The roads in the village were repaired and the authorities renovated many of the old homes.
Now he gets a government pension and also receives a salary for working as a fireguard in the nearby forest. All told, he makes about $250 (£155) a month - more money than he has ever had. "The wheel of history won't turn back," he declares, explaining China's progress over the last few decades.
Dong Dexiu's sense of optimism is shared by many Chinese in the small villages, bustling towns and mega-cities across the country.
Lives have been transformed here and many believe that China - despite all the problems it faces - is a country on the right track. The challenge for China's new leaders will be meeting the growing expectations.
