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PKG
INTRO
The 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has charted a course for the country's development.
Among dozens of reform plans, rural land reform is considered close to the top of the agenda.
CNC brings you a new kind of land exchange system in southwest China.
PKG
48-year-old Tang Youlian is a farmer in Zhongyuan Village, Qianjiang District, southwestern municipality of Chongqing.
Tang has lived in the Wuling mountain with her husband and children for decades.
A year ago, her family was living in a shabby house with muddy courtyards. Now everything has changed.
SOUNDBITE (CHINESE) TANG YOULIAN, Villager:
"This used to be a pigsty and our old wooden house was over there. The house, with five rooms, was quite damp after rain. Flood damaged cabinets and boxes. We were afraid that the flooded house would collapse and felt really uncomfortable living in it."
Tang's old house was built half way up a mountain.
A one-meter-wide dirt road was the only way to get down.
SOUNDBITE (CHINESE) TANG YOULIAN, Villager:
"It took at least half an hour to walk back home from the main road. Transport was inconvenient as no cars could reach here".
Tang said her family had been longing for a new house with better living conditions.
But a lack of money meant that was impossible: they couldn't afford an expensive house loan on their meager income from farming and part-time work.
Last year, the Chongqing government put a new land exchange system on trial.
By cutting the amount of land used for building homes and converting it into new farmland, villagers receive quotas known as "dipiao", or land tickets.
'These quotas can then be sold by the government to urban developers who want to build on other patches of farmland.
In 2012, Tang's family was told that her house was worth 30 dollars per square meter in compensation as part of the scheme.
After discussing the deal with her husband, Tang decided to demolish their home to reclaim 503 square meters of land, so that they could get enough of a subsidy to build a new house.
SOUNDBITE (CHINESE) TANG YOULIAN, Villager:
"I received more than 11,000 U.S. dollars in compensation through land reclamation".
According to the transaction record in the village, Tang's old house was valued at only 1,000 dollars. But, through the land reclamation scheme, it's value soared 10-fold.
Tang's family then immediately built a three-story house at the foot of the mountain.
SOUNDBITE (CHINESE) TANG YOULIAN, Villager:
"Our family, since my grandfather's generation, had lived in the old house for more than 80 years. There were leaks everywhere. Rebuilding it in the original spot wouldn't have resulted in any subsidies from the government. But through land reclamation, we received compensation and built our new house".
Tang's new house is one of 40 town houses in this newly-built concentrated residential area.
Some villagers, like Tang, have already moved in, while more houses are under construction.
Tang said if there was no policy, it would have taken her family a decade to build a new house.
SOUNDBITE (CHINESE) TANG YOULIAN, Villager:
"It would have taken more than 10 years of breeding silkworms to get enough money for our new home".
Chongqing's policy allowed villagers to use the reclaimed land to grow crops.
By growing rapeseed and corn in her old field, Tang's family can harvest more than 100 kg of rapeseed and 500 kg of corn per year, which also increases their income.
SOUNDBITE (CHINESE) TANG YOULIAN, Villager:
"Our new house is clean and everything is convenient. We can catch buses right outside our home. The living environment is much more comfortable than before."
The new land exchange system has increased the income of tens of thousands of villagers similar to Tang.
By November 2013, the reclamation of rural construction land in Chongqing had reached 12,400 hectares.
