Once a shabby town filled with lowrise factories, Jinjiang now strikes the world as one of China's most urbanized areas with straightened-up roads and blocks of buildings.

Wu Jincheng, Party secretary of Dapu village, gives an interview. [Photo by Hu Meidong/China Daily]

The government of Jinjiang, a 2-million-people town in southern Fujian province, has made great efforts to make this amazing transformation.

To optimize sources of rural lands, some farmers had to relocate to the urban area. Authorities have provided them with very comfortable apartments in the downtown area at a favorable price.

The policy has led to a smooth implementation of an 11-million-sq-m resettlement project through which nearly 90,000 farmers have agreed to give up their lands and move into the town over three years.

Authorities in many of Jinjiang's suburban areas also strived to improve the infrastructure and roll out more benefits for the residents.

Take Dapu village as an example. At 3-sq-km with a population of nearly 9,000, the village has taken on a look as akin to a small city, thanks to a transformation project which kicked off in the year 2,000 and gave the village a complete set of supporting civic facilities.

Villagers enjoy a lot of benefits. Besides complete insurance, each of them gets a 60-yuan monthly subsidy for helpling keep the environment tidy. Education of children is totally free. And the villagers even set up a charity foundation for those in need.

To offer the elderly people better accommodation, the village set up a nursing home where those above 70, especially those who have no children around or are financially stretched, are eligible to move in for free.

The home, with an investment of 15 million yuan, offers a variety of services, such as physical checkups, for some 200 seniors there. It is also a perfect place for them for entertainment, according to Wu Jincheng, Party secretary of the village.