XINXIAN, Henan - Liu Bing appreciates the days he spent working in South Korea, which gave him the capital to start his own career.

Liu, a 42-year-old villager from Xinxian county, worked in a dye factory in Daegu from 2001 to 2005. During that time he earned more than 600,000 yuan ($95,000), a big sum compared with the average income in the mountainous region he came from.

"It made me feel fulfilled to make so much money," Liu told China Daily.

With the money, Liu built a three-storey villa in his hometown covering more than 300 square meters, and established a company to refurbish houses, which brings him an annual income of 200,000 yuan.

Liu's way of becoming rich is common in his village, where European-style villas are readily found at the foot of the hills.

More than 80 percent of the families in his village have relatives working overseas, he said.

Xinxian county, which borders Anhui and Hubei provinces, has a long history of overseas labor and has been the county with the largest number of workers overseas in Henan province, according to Zhengzhou-based Dahe Daily.

Liu Bing, a villager in Xinxian county, Central China's Henan province, recalls his overseas working experience. After he returned from South Korea, Liu built a three-storey villa in the county and started a company. Xiang Mingchao / China Daily