When farmers in the eastern part of China are living in two-story houses, watching color TV, and taking showers from solar water heaters, those in the western part of the country are still struggling to make ends meet.

City born and bred, Zhang Hui, at 25, is considered to be at the right age to get married.

"I won't marry my current boyfriend because his family are poor farmers in Xuzhou," she said. Xuzhou is a northern city in Jiangsu Province, which is underdeveloped compared with southern and eastern parts of Jiangsu.

This January, Zhang was introduced to another man whose family also turned out to be farmers.

"But this man is different, because his parents are farmers from Fujiabian," she said.

Zhang was quick to spot the difference.

"There are rich farmers and poor farmers," Zhang said. "Those in western China are generally poor and less educated."

Zhang might sound harsh and judgmental. But her attitude is far from isolated in this vast country.

As Beijing Review reporters found out, there are some major reasons for the development gap between western and eastern countrysides in China. In eastern coastal areas where the economy is developed, farmers are well-informed about news and policies. Local governments are relatively rich thanks to industrialization and may have more disposable capital, which can be invested in agriculture. Meanwhile, the warm climate in eastern China enables harvesting of vegetables and crops two to three times a year, while in the less developed middle and northwestern countryside where climate isn't as good, farmers can only reap once a year. As a result, farmers in northwestern China may earn a net income of only 2,000 yuan a year from one hectare, but those in the southeastern part will likely bring in over 40,000 yuan from the same amount of land.

Additionally, farmers in western China usually grow crops like wheat, soybean, and corn, while coastal farmers tend to grow more potentially prosperous economic crops like fruit trees, tea, and flowers. They have even started up "rural tour" programs for urban dwellers to experience country life and earn a lot from these relatively well-off city slickers.

Yu's family is just an example of the 1,300 farming households in Fujiabian Village. He said he and his fellow countrymen were very grateful for the Central Government's decision to build up a new countryside.

"When I first heard the term 'socialist countryside,' I laughed and thought it might just be another slogan of the current president and premier," said Yu, without mincing words. "But only after we have actually benefited----though still not very much----from the favorable policy did I realize that the government was taking us really seriously."

Yu said he was confident that life would become better and better in the future.

"If you asked me my expectation for the future 10 years ago, the answer would have been totally different," Yu said, smiling.

Local professionals weigh in

But the government can still do more, according to some local professionals.

Li Baijian, President of Fujiabian Agricultural Technology Park, made several suggestions.

Li contended that the government should allow and encourage the rural labor force to move freely.

"Those who want to leave should be able to leave and those who prefer to stay can form large-scale development," said Li. In Western countries where the population is small, one farmer can manage a huge tract of land and use high-tech equipment to grow plants. Li suggested Fujiabian can do the same thing.

Furthermore, Li asked for better rural infrastructure construction.

"I am glad to see the Agricultural Development Bank of China has started to make loans to us for infrastructure," said Li.

Zhang Xuan, a teacher from Lishui High School, said the tuition fee for rural kids is still very high. Students have to pay 2,000 yuan for a term, usually about four to five months.

Zhang added in her class, some students from rural areas cannot afford the high education fee, even though a small amount of money was exempt from the incidental fees

"To fully ease farmers' burden, I think the country has a long way to go," Zhang said.

Review: What was the biggest change for you last year? Yu Lasheng: I think the biggest change was that the total turnover of my little restaurant surpassed 200,000 yuan and our net income was about 100,000 yuan. My family bought new air-conditioners and we also bought a computer and installed ADSL broadband Internet access. It was unimaginable even a year earlier. By the way, my grandson was born at the end of last year. I swear that my little grandson will enjoy the best education in town and won't suffer the same fate as my two daughters (Both of them dropped out of school due to poverty). What is the major concern or problem that you have? My major concern is how to make more money. I am very frank. Since we opened our little restaurant in the second half of 2004, the competition has been growing fiercer each year. The paramount problem is also how to survive the cutthroat competition. Moreover, one of the major problems came from the government. I don't think the local government had kept its word. It was very supportive before we opened the restaurant. It encouraged us to do it by offering zero tax in the first three years and also paid for the license fee about 1,000 yuan to start up the restaurant. I was very grateful for the government's supportive attitude. But after watching that we were making a profit in such short time, the local government asked us to pay tax. Although I know we should do something to pay back our community, it still hurts our feelings. I mean, the policy shouldn' t have been changed overnight, right? Anyway, I still agree that our local government has been very helpful. What kind of policy do you expect? Favorable policy of course (Yu laughed). As a Chinese saying goes, if we are used to rich lives, it will be very hard for us to go back into poverty. We are scared of poverty. We never want to go back. Any favorable policy is welcome. We are simple people and we want to be good. All of my fellow villagers know that our President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao are very concerned about the rural areas and without their visionary undertaking in developing rural areas, we wouldn't have enjoyed such a life. I'm not flattering anyone, but it is true. It's just that the local government should follow the Central Government's policy and guidelines strictly.

Beijing