Farmer’s diaries record progress of the village

A 76-year-old farmer in North China’s Hebei province has kept a diary of more than 100 volumes that cover six decades, a record of the changes in his hometown.

Jia Zengwen, who lives in Niujiazhuang village in Gaocheng, Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital of North China's Hebei province, started the diary when he was 16 years old.

He has accumulated 108 diary notebooks that recall events in his life and in his village.

The contents of his diaries cover events that reflect the development and reform of Chinese villages, such as dividing communally owned farmlands into family plots and carrying out rural medical insurance programs.