In the suburbs of big cities, farmland was to be, or had already been, turned into industrial areas. In the west of the country, farmland was turned into forests or pastures to preserve the ecological balance.

Therefore, the resettlement of the villagers in both cases would not pose key negative influences to their lives or the agriculture.

The third suggestion was integration in a balanced manner, acknowledging the uniqueness of both areas.

Agriculture is usually managed by individuals or families while in the cities, industry is based on large-scale socialized production.

Consumption in the rural areas is friendly to the environment because of resource recycling while in cities consumption and waste is huge.

In the cities, their governments are responsible for the infrastructure and public facilities, in the villages this is undertaken by the cooperatives.

Arrangements therefore must be made in the following aspects to realize integrated development.

First, villages should stick to their traditional agricultural production, while cities develop their industrial and commercial sectors.

Farmers should be allowed to choose their agricultural produce according to their comparative advantages, while the families of one village should try to select the same produce to gain the economy of scale.

Infrastructure and other public facilities and services in rural areas should be acceptable to farmers and not thrust upon them by the cities.

Village officials in Huzhou, Zhejiang province, have done a good job in consolidating rural facilities.

They stress that traditional houses should be preserved and not demolished for "modern structures".

But modern methods for supplying clean drinking water, promoting renewable energy, and treating garbage and sewage, should be encouraged.

Villagers should also be encouraged to develop some of their lands or orchards into attractions for city dwellers, giving them an opportunity to enjoy and learn more about the countryside.

In this way, the rural community would be able to retain some of their original lifestyle as well as gain economic returns from sources other than farming.

As the campaign to build a new socialist countryside progresses, it is time for the decision-makers, especially those at the grassroots level, to re-establish the essence of rural life, to take into account the long-term interests of farmers, and refrain from introducing the development modes of cities to villages.

The author is vice-minister of construction.

(China Daily, March 10, 2008)