The southern part of China has superior natural endowment, but the livestock industry is predominantly featured by pigs, which feed on grain.

With an altitude of 3000 to 5000 meters, the pastoral land covers an area of 2 billion Mu and is featured by high altitude, vastness, drought and coldness.

The gap between urban and rural income is much higher than shown in statistics. The increasing gap in recent years is attributed to improper adjustment policy for agricultural products, lack of attention of the public policy to rural areas, defects of rural grass-roots, and differences in inter-regional endowment.

The emergence of numerous new features in China's rural economy at the turn of the century indicates that the economy has entered into a new stage of development.