Milestones

MIlestones: 1978

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-30 05:12

Farmers in Xiaogang village, Fengyang county, Anhui province, in 1978. Xiaogang is considered the pioneer of China's economic reform. Wang Qiang

-- The Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee convenes in Beijing on Dec 18. It is widely considered the pivotal juncture at which the CPC launches its grand reform and opening-up policies and switches its focus to economic construction.

-- On Nov 24, 21 farmers in Xiaogang village of Anhui province press their fingerprints or seals on a contract that divided community-owned farmland into plots for individual households. Initially attacked as a return to capitalism, the controversial move triggers a wave of changes leading to the system of 30-year leases and marks the beginning of the historic process of opening up and reform.

-- The CPC works to remove the label of "rightists". The work is completed in November.