Combined photo shows a historic event in China which happened in Xiaogang Village, dubbed "the birthplace for China's rural reform." Photo taken on Oct. 7, 2008 (up) shows village cadres of Xiaogang Village sorting out files relating with land transfer. Picture below shows the land contract with fingerprints of 18 villagers of Xiaogang Village in the winter of 1978. Xiaogang was once infamous for its poverty, as most of the villagers had to flee their home and beg for food. In 1978, 18 villagers in Xiaogang signed the land-contracting agreement to divide the farmland owned by the Commune into family plots. Their ideas was later adopted by the rest of the country's rural areas. In 1979, the village harvested more than 69,600 kilograms of grain, which equaled the total yield during the 15 years from 1955 to 1970. This year marks the 95th birthday of the Communist Party of China (CPC). (Photo/Xinhua)
