As one of China's most populous provinces and a major agricultural center, Henan has been concentrating on rural highway construction over the past several years, bringing a new look to the province's vast countryside.

The rapid development of rural highways not only solves the transportation problem that has troubled rural residents for thousands of years, but also gives a great impetus to the construction of "New Countryside" and "Harmonious Society."

Benefits

The expansion of the rural highway network has contributed to a balanced development of urban and rural areas.

The highways create convenient commodity and information channels between the cities and the countryside, stimulating economic development and consumers' expenditures in rural areas.

Farmers in rural Henan Province buy vegetables and commodities transported by vehicles to their villages. Farmers now can carry their native products to the urban market thanks to the convenient transportation.

It is estimated that an investment of 100 million yuan in the roads will directly or indirectly bring about 316 million yuan in gross domestic product (GDP).

The improved transportation conditions have greatly rationalized the production structure in rural areas.

In many places, market-oriented modern agriculture with high added value has replaced traditional agriculture. A batch of new production bases, such as vegetable, animal husbandry, poultry breeding and forestry bases, have mushroomed as a result.

Jiaozuo, a city in northern Henan Province, has built 106 standardized agricultural production bases and 33,350 hectares of woods for industrial use.

The city has also built a batch of large, standardized cattle farms, with animal husbandry accounting for 42.9 percent of total agricultural output value.

The newly built rural highways have greatly facilitated the exploitation of all kinds of resources in the vast countryside.

Industries such as tourism, mineral resources and agricultural products transportation have enjoyed a substantial growth with the newly built highways, bringing considerable income to local farmers.

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