My colleague and his wife spent a night in Fengzhen, a county-level city in North China's Inner Mongolia, on his way to a mountainous village for a Spring Festival reunion with his in-laws.

When they arrived at about 3 am on the second day of the Lunar New Year and got out of the railway station, they found the city was shrouded almost in darkness with dim streetlights.

The streets became completely dark when they trekked further away from the railway station.

Without bringing a flashlight or lantern with them beforehand, they had to feel their way around. Outside the gate of what they believed to be their relative's home, they made a phone call.

"We heard the telephone ring and made sure we were at the right address before we knocked," my colleague explained. "After all, it was festival time and we didn't want to intrude into a wrong home."

But the city's darkness in the wee hours was still perplexing.

By China's standard, Fengzhen is a small city. But it already has an urban population of about 100,000, according to the government website of Ulanqab, the prefecture whose jurisdiction Fengzhen falls under.

The city also has a rural population of about 210,000.

Rich in mineral resources, the city is on the fast track of urban development.

"Especially the construction of such major architecture as the buildings of the city government and court house has expanded the city's acreage, elevated the city's standing and enhanced the city's function," the website proudly announces.

Above all, the city has been designated one of the major electricity suppliers in North China, as a large power generation plant is in operation and further expanding in Fengzhen, under the auspices of a leading electricity producer in the country.

The city does not lack electricity. Nor does it lack the ability to install and manage its infrastructure to make it a convenient small urban centre, as it projects itself on the Internet.

My colleague heard locals talk about how the people affiliated with the State company live like kings, while offering little to improve the welfare and livelihood of the locals.

Such complaints are not uncommon. Our reporters have travelled across the country and seen the stark gap in livelihood between the people who work for State companies and those who do not. The villages right outside the companies' properties remain poverty-stricken.

We still remember the gas well blowout in Kaixian County, Chongqing Municipality, which killed 233 local people in December 2003. The owner of the natural gas field is China National Petroleum Corporation.

And a blast last November from a chemical plant, also of a national petroleum company, spilled some 100 tons of toxic chemicals into the river in Northeast China's Jilin City, Jilin Province.

Farmers and small town residents who live near the river received little attention until the slick hit Harbin, capital of the neighbouring Heilongjiang Province.

Leading State companies that build energy plants or dams around the country are always welcomed wherever they settle, since they create jobs and contribute to local government revenue. They are also the nation's leading GDP contributors.

However, it is high time they also took the general welfare and livelihood of the local people seriously. These individuals have sacrificed precious land and been affected by the major constructions.

And hopefully, next time my colleague and his wife arrive in Fengzhen during the wee hours, they will not have to find their way in total darkness.

Email: lixing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 02/09/2006 page4)