Rich village yearns for lost farm glory

NANJING - After walking out of his spacious villa, Mei Zhenhua drives his Audi 6 to the rice farm in Huaxi village, known as China's wealthiest village.

The 34-year-old former metallurgy engineer has lived the agricultural life for a year and a half, as one of the seven "young smart intellectuals" selected by villagers to grow rice.

Huaxi in eastern China's Jiangsu province, about 130 km away from Shanghai, has been urbanized. With skyscrapers and a village-run aviation firm, Huaxi has accumulated wealth through the development of industries ranging from steel and chemical fiber to banking, new energy, logistics and marine transport.