Although China has an agricultural history of more than 5000 years, yet the greatest development has been made over the past 50 years, especially since the reform and opening up. China has witnessed great achievements in the development of agriculture and rural economy, which have attracted worldwide attention and brought about earth-shaking change in the countryside.

The overall capacity of agricultural production has been greatly improved leading to the large increase of grain crops and other farm products. This has reversed the chronic shortage of major farm products and the Chinese people have realized their long-cherished dream of the general balance between supply and demand of farm products with surplus in good harvest years.

The development of township enterprise, the newly emerging force, has brought along the change in the industrial structure and employment structure in rural areas as well as the development of small cities and towns, and at the same time created a way, with Chinese characteristics, for the rural industrialization and development of small cities and towns.

Farmers' living standards have been greatly improved and China's rural population has been in general moving from the subsistence phase to the phase of comfortable life.

Here after on, an introduction to the historical development of rural China will be made for your understanding and reference to the overall perspective of Chinese agriculture.

Edited by CECAT
2002/9/28