2. This is a poster of Chinese communist forces, led by Mao Zedong, entering Beijing in January 1949.

3. Two girls are standing above the terraced fields of a village in the northern Chinese countryside. Throughout history, the majority of the Chinese population lived in the countryside and supported themselves by farming. Through the late twentieth century, 80 % of the population farmed and lived in small villages.

4. This is an aerial view of a Chines village in 1982. A typical Chinese village has between 30 and 60 households, and village homes are built close together to leave a maximum amount of land for farming. The walls of most houses are constructed by combining earth and sand and clamping it between two planks of wood, and the roofs are made of stone shingles. Homes of wealthier villagers have cement walls and ceilings.

5. Here we see a street scene in a small Chinese village. Village streets are generally active, with adults going to and from work, children going to school, and elderly people minding young children at play. Family members usually return home to eat together during the midday break.

6. Here people outside a typical house in a Chinese village. It is common for three generations of a family to live together in a one-or two- room dwelling. The bicycle, which is highly prized in the countryside as a means of transportation, is an indication of the increased prosperity of Chinese villagers.

7. This is a group of men eating family- style in a village restaurant in southern China. The jackets and hats, typical of the Maoist era, are worn by villagers and city dwellers alike to emphasize equality between people. The jackets are blue, the traditional color of peasant dress and now the color of the Communist Party uniforms, and the hats are green, the color of military dress. These men are sharing common dishes, placed in the middle of the table, and rice. The basis of northerner’s diets is millet and wheat instead of rice.

8. This is a classroom of schoolchildren in a rural classroom in a small village in northeastern China. In the countryside, children of different ages often study in a single room, which is usually equipped with wooden desks, a chalkboard, and a small stove for heating during winter months.

9. This is a man plowing fields in southern China. Though most villagers no longer struggle to survive, much of their day-to-day work -- such as plowing, weeding, and harvesting crops -- has not changed for centuries.

10. The woman here is grinding corn at a mule-driven mill. Improved technology--electricity-driven water pumps, trucks, tractors--is increasingly being used in the countryside, but many small villages continue to use traditional technology as well.

11. This is a family’s cave located in Er Go village, near Liu Ling village in Shaanixi Province in northern China. Because of hilly terrain, inhabitants of this village live in caves built into hillsides instead of houses. In most other respects, however, the villages in this region are similar to villages throughout China.