Nation looks back and forward, 30 years after landmark reform

Wang, 22, has been to Shenzhen's fast-food restaurants, theaters and shopping centers. "Normally, my monthly wage is at least twice the farming income at home. I even bought my father a motorbike last year."

Now that he is back home again, Wang said he is shocked to see how poor his folks are. "Life is still tough here. How come those rich people are so rich in the cities?"

In Wang's home county of Zhengyang, his family of six grow crops on 0.3 hectare of land. "Even if we planted gold, what a meagre income could we make?"

The wide income gap, alongside the overall capacity to withstand financial risks and achieve sustainable development, will continue to challenge China's society in years to come, said Liu Yunxian, a researcher with the Executive Leadership Academy in Shanghai's Pudong New District.

"In decades to come, there's a lot China needs to do to maintain fairness and social harmony and improve people's livelihood," he said. "The reform and opening up has brought China's 5,000-year civilization to a new climax, but this is not the end."

Editor:Zheng Limin