Urban boom should spread to countryside

Over the weekend, the Tianjin municipal government announced that its investment on the development of small towns will total 44.2 billion yuan this year, an increase of 35 percent over last year. This is part of China's effort to push forward its strategy of integrating urban and rural areas and expedite measures to build small cities and towns.

Urban-rural integration becomes inevitable after a country's economic development and urbanization reach a certain level, and China committed itself to it a long time ago. The basic aim of such integration is to narrow the urban-rural gap, promote harmonious economic and social development between cities and rural areas and make city and village folks share the fruits of development.

Small cities and towns have flourished across the country since the implementation of the reform and opening-up policy in 1978, and a large number of them have developed into local economic, political and cultural centers. They have not only made huge contributions to rural economic development and social progress, but also helped transform lifestyles in villages and modes of production in rural areas. They have changed rural people's outlook too.