But he barely mentioned the two months he spent as part of a delegation of college students traveling around the Chinese countryside, trying to foster private enterprises.

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Like most Chinese from the countryside, my former students tended to marry early, and that spring I often received letters describing their courtships.

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About 25 million Chinese are expected to urbanize from the countryside to cities each year.

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Chinese officials say a major outbreak in the countryside, where medical facilities are inadequate, is their biggest fear.

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For the many millions of poorer Chinese, including the many migrants from the countryside, the housing crunch presents a more serious issue.

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The bright yellows of the recently harvested corncobs and the bright blue Chinese sky contrast sharply with the grays, browns and smudged greens of the flat, bleak, open countryside.

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