In Shaanxi province, the largest province in China, farmers make up 80 percent of the population. Of the 34 million inhabitants of the province, some 2 million of them live below the poverty line. At least 50 percent of these people are illiterate. Most peasant villages have no running water, but for a spicket in the center of the vilalge, and their houses have no central heat or air. Each family is given a narrow plot of land, which extended from the wall you will see marking the boundary of the fields out to the back of the fields, seen in the background.
Peasants spend their days laboring in the fields, and usually work a seven day week.
The quicktime movie is a virtual tour of the village in which I stopped, nestled in the shadow of the Great Wall. Although many were curious about us, many of them were also frightened. When they saw us attempting to take their pictures, they would scurry quickly back into their dwellings. Academy of Jinshan Peasant Painting More peasant work from Shanghai, including lacquer and silk rugs. This is an online gallery, which includes images of work for sale.