I visited Longmen village only two years ago, but already things have changed.

Located in Lingshui County in South China's island province of Hainan, the village population is only 580 but it is considered medium-sized in Hainan.

Unlike on my previous visit, local children were more at ease with strangers, talking to me in fluent putonghua and volunteering to show me around.

The village is no longer isolated from the outside world. Five programme-controlled telephones now connect the village to every corner of the world.

The village's first telephone arrived in the 1970s, and is now on display at the village committee office.

"Our life nowadays is much better. It's no longer a dream to lift ourselves out of poverty," exclaimed 36-year-old villager Chen Fachuan.

In the past, Chen's farming family could hardly make ends meet, but today there are more ways to earn a living, he said. Their income has increased dramatically by growing vegetables and raising cattle and pigs. Last year, Chen and his wife earned over 50,000 yuan (US$6,040).

Chen's prosperity is shared by other villagers. Last year the average per capita income in the village reached 3,300 yuan (US$400), compared with the national average per capita income in rural areas of 2,366.4 yuan (US$286). Television sets and electrical household appliances are very common among villagers.

These changes in wealth are mainly due to infrastructure improvements. A highway linking the village with major cities in the province was completed in 1995 and brought more business opportunities to villagers.

During the winter harvesting season, business people from all over the country flood to the local market in Lingshui to purchase vegetables and fruits.

About 60 per cent of young people from Longmen go on to study or work in large cities like Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Haikou, villagers said.

"What we need now is knowledge," said 23-year-old Wu Hailing.

Villagers attach great importance to education, and the local schools are well-equipped.

"The village will see more changes in the coming years," Wu exclaimed.

What also pleased me very much was that some things have stayed the same.

Coconut trees, a characteristic of this tropical village, still towered above me and the villagers, known for their hospitality, greeted me and invited me to dinner.

( China Daily May 24, 2002)