Villagers read wall newspapers in Linxian county in the 1980s.(Source: China Daily) Photo Gallery>>>

    Dacaiyuan is no exception. Over the last three decades, the village has gone through major changes, some of which threaten its very existence. Rapid urbanization and industrialization have reduced the size of the village and its arable land.

    In 1994, Linxian county was upgraded into Linzhou city, in accordance with the local government shifting its focus from agriculture to rural-urban integration and industrialization.

    It also marked a step towards modernization. The urban area expanded from 3 sq km to 24 sq km. Most farmers have entered the service industry or run privately owned rural enterprises, according to Linzhou city Party Secretary Wang Chun'an.

    With a population of 1 million now, the economy of Linzhou city has grown from 140 million yuan ($20 million) in 1978 to 17.4 billion yuan ($2.5 billion) in 2007, according to Wang.

    "People in Linzhou have a long history of leaving their villages to find work elsewhere and are known for their construction skills," Jervis said.

    "The 1978 agricultural reforms gave them more than land. It also gave them the freedom to go out and find construction jobs."

    "Basically, there was no specific policy on leaving the rural areas, but all restrictions were relaxed," the anthropologist explained. "There were specific policies to end food rationing and government subsidized food prices. This made it easier to live in cities."

    Until the early 1990s, the supply of grain and other foods in urban centers was rationed for permanent urban residents.

    As production of grain, meat and other foods increased dramatically as a result of the rural household-responsibility system, food rationing ended. This, coupled with rising demand of labors in the city, became the biggest push to allow farmers, who previously had no way of sustaining their life in cities without ration coupons, to migrate into cities.

    "The government also encouraged creativity and flexibility; taxes were lower, allowing people to accumulate capital," Jervis added.

    "They've found life is a lot better, but not because of farming," Jervis said. "It is because they've found ways of getting out of the village and are sending money back to the village."

    According to Jervis' survey of 61 households in 1981, more than 25 per cent of the men spent the year working on construction projects in big cities. Jervis said the number increased each year.

    Today Linzhou has 3,100 construction teams of about 210,000 migrant workers working on projects in 300 cities nationwide and overseas, bringing in a net income of 1.56 billion yuan, according to city head Wang.

    Part of the incentive for people from Linxian county to go out and find jobs much earlier than those in other rural counties is due to the region's history.