Rural areas pose challenge for prosperity target

In the county-level city of Jinzhou, a kind of salad mixed with corn batter and wild herbs is called "kulei," which translates as "bitterness and hardship."

The dish, created decades ago when farmers had little food to fill their stomaches, can also be found on dining tables there, although hunger is no longer a problem.

"We still have it now to remind ourselves of the past and cherish the present," said Chu Xingyu, chief of the Jinzhou City Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Located in north China's Hebei province, Jinzhou is just a three-hour drive from Beijing. However, the annual per capita income for residents of the city is just 10,000 yuan (1,604 U.S. dollars), or one-third of the average annual income of Beijing residents.

In November 2012, the CPC announced that it would attempt to double China's GDP, as well as residents' per capita income, by 2020 in comparison to 2010 levels.

"The key to realizing this goal lies at the most basic levels," Chu said.

In Jinzhou's village of Jiangjiazhuang, Jiang Yongqiang has turned his pear farm into a grape farm, which allowed him to nearly double his income.

"Grapes are more nutritious, as well as more profitable," Jiang said.

Although grape farming is currently prosperous, Lan Zhanbiao, the township's CPC head, is still concerned about the villagers' future.

"What if there are market fluctuations or a supply surplus?" said Lan. "Farmers with meager incomes cannot bear huge losses."