The Rural Voice, 2005-07, Page 35flowers to feed and please this
teeming population. In some areas all
you can see on either side of the
highway is an ocean of greenhouses.
They grow a type of tree that is
tall and slender and is used to
construct the greenhouse frame
which is then covered with plastic. It
is obviously inexpensive but
effective, evident from the
widespread use.
We viewed many fish farms
intermixed throughout the delta and
in those areas of intensive rice farms
planted and growing in the south.
We visited a modern up-to-date
hog abattoir where cleanliness was
emphasized everywhere. We viewed
from upper glassed -in walkways. We
visited feed mills and research
centres.
The Chinese government sees
agriculture as a key element to
their economy, to be able to
feed themselves in the future.
In 1978. China introduced the
household contract responsibility
system, linking remuneration to
output and started dismantling the
commune system. Land was
contracted out to peasants which
altered the distribution form of land
an,d mobilized the farmers with
enthusiasm for production.
In 1985. a second reform
eliminated the state monopoly,
opening the w -ay for a market
economy through corporate business.
enterprises which rent or contract the
land from the state. The state retains
ownership of the land but the
corporations finance their own
infrastructure and make their own
marketing decisions and arrange
supplies from individual farms. As a
result. China's GDP has grown
astonishingly, year after year.
Nowhere is that more evident than
in agriculture which is now
producing to the point of eliminating
the serious food shortages of the past.
What about the social and cultural
fabric of China'? I was inspired and
impressed by the extensive tree
planting everywhere, a valuable
contribution to any society —
renewable, healthy and aesthetically
pleasing.
The prominence of women in
leadership roles throughout society,
particularly in agriculture, was
noteworthy. We met with seven
representatives from the Ministry of
Agriculture the first morning — four
were men and three were women.
The interpreter and tour guide was a
young, fluently bilingual woman.
The president of the hog farmers'
association in one province was a
woman own owns and operates a
600 -sow setup.
English is compulsory in all
schools in the urban centres, in order
to connect to an English -dominated
world.
The mixture of old and new was
evident in all areas of infrastructure.
manufacturing and construction —
we saw a water buffalo working in a
rice paddy next to a field with a
modern tractor.
To visit Tiananmen Square. the
Forbidden City. the Terra Cotta
warriors at Xi'An. the Oriental Pearl
TV Tower in Shanghai. the Lingyin
Temple in Hangzhou — words are
inadequate to describe and give any
sense of the colour and design to
appreciate the master craftsmanship
of the people in every field who put it
all together.
n every city the huge construction
cranes stand out like giant birds
everywhere. building highrises at
an unbelievable rate. with a massive
demand for labour and materials.
How do they do it?
The crowning experience of all
was to walk a tiny section of the
Great Wall of China — a masterpiece
of human endeavour and
achievement. It gave you the
uplifting feeling you were standing
on hallowed ground. One can only
stand in awe at the sweat. the stamina
and endurance, the highly skilled
craftsmen who built so solidly and
with creativity this massive structure
1,600 kilometers long over the most
difficult mountainous terrain. It was
built 601) years ago and is still
standing. it gives one a new
appreciation of the unlimited
potential of what the human species
can accomplish when motivated. One
dreams of the potential. if directed. to
build solid human relationships on a
scale that matches the
accomplishment of these so-called
barbarians, savages. heathens or
whatever, who built this wonder of
the world that stands out to those
viewing it from space.0
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JULY 2005 31