The 2001 Nobel laureate has just given a speech in Guiyang, capital of SW China's Guizhou Province, one of the most underdeveloped provinces in China.

"We know that market economy has different models and there is no 'one size fits all policies'," said the 64-year-old economist in his speech.

Keen on the Chinese economy, the former World Bank chief economist scrutinized the Chinese government's 11th five-year plan which described rural development at length and could hardly wait to find out what's going on in China's countryside.

Dimen, a 500-household Dong minority village 400 kilometers away from Guiyang, came first in his mind.

Wooden houses, pyramid-like drum towers and sweet polyphonic songs, all these exotic things apparently refreshed the incumbent Columbia University professor and his wife Anya Schiffrin.

"It's very peaceful and quiet," said Mrs. Stiglitz, professor and co-director of Columbia University's International Media and Communications program.

"We are excited to meet an economics prize winner. He is the first Nobel laureate who has made it here." said Chen Yinghua, party chief of Liping County, who accompanied the couple to the upland village.

"The improvement of rural infrastructure is impressive," said Stiglitz, "the road, cell phone towers ... there is very good cell phone signal in the rural area. Even in a very small village, there is Internet." he said with a smile.

"The Chinese government's policy of building new socialism countryside is contributing to the improvement of living standard in rural areas," he added.

But the increasing gap between rich and poor could trigger more social and economic problems, said the professor who won the prize for his "analyses of markets with asymmetric information".

After 30 years of economic reform and open-up, there are still nearly 3 million people, almost eight percent of the province's population, living on an average of 625 yuan (about 81 U.S. dollars) per year in Guizhou.

In an earlier interview with a US-based media, Stiglitz suggested not to overestimate China's development and indicated that the country had found her own way of development.

Different countries have different choices, China is creating a new market economy model with Chinese characteristics that is consistent with China's distinct circumstances and values, said the economist.

He elaborated that China's new model focuses on four aspects -- the imparity among regions and between urban and rural areas; environment problem; independent innovation; and making the export-oriented economy more dependent on domestic demands.

Starting his China tour in 1981, the energetic man knows a lot about the country's past and present. For many years his comment on the Chinese economy and suggestions to the Chinese government have been fairly popular among Chinese economists and on the Chinese media.

His passion in the rising oriental power seems never receding.

"He has taken over 500 pictures," said Schiffrin when her husband was focusing his digital camera on a bamboo-made farming tool.

The photographic enthusiast shot almost everything on his way -- the newly-built toilets, farmers, kids, their food and furniture.

Boosting the agricultural productivity, creating job opportunities and promoting infrastructure development are important to improve the living standard in rural areas, said Stiglitz, taking some cabbage handed over by Chen.

For example, the peasants cannot sell their products to the market without road, and infrastructure development, such as house and road construction can help to create job opportunities, he said, chawing the vegetable grown in the rare cultivable soil of Guizhou.

Several years ago, many poor households in the province even had not enough food and clothes for every family member.

The local government has therefore promoted emerging industries to help people get rid of poverty.

Tourism has been one of those highlighted industries.

Dimen serves as a good example. It has special historical and cultural attractions, such as the Dimen Dong minority village and the Longli ancient town.

More attractive are the Big Songs of the Dong minority, a sophisticated polyphonic singing style, as well as the ancient paper-making skill and traditional rituals.

People are trying to shake off poverty without undermining these precious heritages, said a local official.

Besides the poverty issue, the Chinese government is bogged down with soaring trade surplus, which has long been attacked by its trade partners in the US and Europe.

"US has little to teach China about steady economy," said the economist in a published article.

Nevertheless, the keen observer suggested the country should improve social welfare to lower its high savings, a strategy to base the already export-fueled economy more on domestic consumption.