Seven-decade history of peaceful rise

Since the founding of New China on Oct 1, 1949, the China story has been one of meeting challenges with creative solutions. When new challenges emerge, they are overcome with even more creative solutions.

When New China was founded, probably the biggest challenge for the leadership was how to feed the people and address the immediate needs of the then largely agricultural society. The leadership inherited a nation that under the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) had an agricultural socio-economic structure that was feudal.

Before 1949, land holdings were passed down through generations leading to small family plots, which were over-farmed and too small to be efficient. At that time, collective farming was the solution. It meant the aggregation of small plots allowing agriculture on a large scale.