A: Welcome back to Listeners Garden. I' m LPC.

B: And I'm JP. On our show last week, we learned that China's opening up to the outside world started with the establishment of special economic zones in the coastal cities. But the reform drive was inaugurated in the rural areas.

A: Yes. China is an agricultural country, with the rural residents accounting for 70 percent of its total population. Agriculture has always been considered the lifeline of the national economy.

B: That's why unprecedented economic reform began in the rural areas 30 years ago. The success of the rural reforms prompted the country to jump-start a nationwide reform campaign, which spread from the economic sector to politics, culture, and society.

A: One reason for China's remarkable achievements in economic and social development over the past 30 years lies in the push for rural reform. The initiative for China's rural economic reform was driven by a group of ordinary farmers from a small village called Xiaogang.

B: Xiaogang in Anhui province looks similar to many Chinese villages, but it occupies a significant position in the history of New China because it was the cradle of rural reform.

A: Yes, 30 years ago, the revolutionary household contract responsibility system was implemented here. Under the system, state-owned farmland was leased to families in return for delivery of fixed output quotas. The system marked the beginning of China's reform drive.

B: Back in the 1970s, Xiaogang was infamous for its poverty. Simply having enough to eat was a shared dream among the 100-plus villagers.

A: In 1978, Xiaogang was hit by a severe drought and reaped a weak harvest. Starvation and poverty finally forced the local farmers to take a risk and change their living conditions.

B: Prior to 1978, farmland was owned and managed by collectives known as People's Communes. After a certain portion of the harvest was paid to the state, the commune distributed the remainder equally among the farmers. At that time, nobody was allowed to divide the collectively-owned farmland into family plots.

A: The Xiaogang villagers made a bold decision to abandon the rigid communal farming system. On a cold night in late November 1978, 18 local farmers gathered in a shabby thatched hut and signed a secret agreement to divide the farmland into pieces for each family.

B: On the agreement covered with seals and red fingerprints, they vowed that each household would deliver a full quota of grain to the state, and could then keep any leftovers.

A: Yan Hongchang, the head of agricultural production at the time, took the lead in signing the contract.

"We were so poor at that time, we thought we must do something to change the situation. After discussing it with other villagers, I decided to contract the collective land to individual households. I knew such a practice was illegal at that time, but I was determined to go ahead no matter what punishment awaited me. When I signed the contract, I was prepared to go to prison."

B: When the 18 starving farmers pressed their fingers to the contract, they never expected that just one month later, the historic Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee would convene in Beijing and formulate the reform and opening up policy.

A: Nor could the Xiaogang villagers have thought that they would later be seen as pacesetters for China's rural reform. Their daring action paved the way for the nationwide implementation of the household contract responsibility system.

B: Former village leader Yan Hong-chang recalls that the farmers' bold action quickly caused an uproar.

"Many people accused us of practicing capitalism and objected to the land-contracting system. We were under great pressure. Luckily, we received strong support from Wan Li, who was then the Party chief of Anhui Province. He praised our courage and allowed us to practice the pilot system. The result proved that our risk was worthwhile. The following year, we were surprised to find the grain output had increased fourfold and was far more than enough to meet our needs."

A: The result surprised the whole country. The village's brave practice eventually gained the recognition and support of then Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, who cited it as a successful attempt to break away from the old, ineffective agricultural production pattern.

B: Starting in 1980, the contract system began to spread to other rural areas, gradually replacing the established collective farming system.

A: On January 1, 1982, the Party issued a document confirming that the household contract responsibility system was part of the socialist economy and should be introduced nationwide.

B: Under the system, proprietary land is still collectively owned, but land use rights are distributed to rural households for independent operation. Households became the main economic unit of the agricultural production system in rural China, with personal income linked to output.

A: Following the issue of the document, the household contract responsibility system was quickly expanded to all rural areas and led to an agricultural boom around the country.

B: The system played a significant role in boosting agricultural productivity and promoting rural development. It greatly fired farmers' initiative and enthusiasm for agricultural production, and enabled many poor villages to escape the grip of poverty. 

A: Alright, that ends today's review of China's reform and opening up policy over the past 30 years. Listeners Garden will continue after the break.