A coal mine owner has made the headlines for the right reasons after spending 20 million yuan (US$ 2.55 million) on building 200 homes for all the residents in his home village.

 

Pei Chunliang, from Peizhai Village in central China's Henan Province, said the act of generosity was a way of expressing his gratitude to the village for coming to his aid several decades earlier after his father had died. Unable to afford a coffin, Pei relied on the donations from local farmers to bury his father.

 

"So far about 110 new residential houses have been built. Once the interior decoration is completed, villagers can move in," Pei said.

 

The remaining villas will be completed next year, ensuring that all the village's 123 families will have new roofs over their heads.

 

Previous donations resulted in Pei being elected village head - with a salary of around 800 yuan a year - in April 2005 even after he had announced he did not want to run.

 

Pei had already contributed a total of 63,000 yuan to the village for the construction of a bridge, a middle school building and a new road. He also built a cement production line with an output capacity of 5,000 tons. Local farmers chipped in but the lion's share of the capital came from the Henan Rural Credit Cooperative.

 

"Being the village head, I am more dynamic than ever," said 36-year-old Pei. "My goal is to lead every one to prosperity."

 

(Xinhua News Agency November 30, 2006)