Opening-up has brought prosperity to township in Guangdong

The situation in Changan township had become serious, with young people having left while the aged lived in panic after the farmlands had been abandoned.

"This truly described Changan township before China's reform and opening-up policies were introduced in the late 1970s," said Guo Rongxin, deputy Party chief and head of Changan township in Dongguan, Guangdong province.

"Due to poverty, many young people risked their lives to secretly swim to Hong Kong to pursue their dreams of wealth," he said.