In short, daily life in a hardscrabble farming village in Szechuan province is a world away from the Shanghai Nanjing Road ritzy shopping street or even an old, walled neighborhood in Harbin, a crossroad of many cultures in northeastern China.

FORBES: From Japan, A Take On China

During the show, Chen announced he was giving away 1, 000 goats, 2, 000 pigs and 113 farming machines to local financially strapped families, the China Daily reported.

FORBES: China's One-Man "Farm Aid" Show

Free trade deal talks between China, Japan and South Korea that finally got underway in Seoul yesterday have also been widely welcomed by Chinese experts, despite predictions that the negotiations may stall over opening up sensitive sectors like farming and manufacturing, further territorial spats or even US resistance, Liberation Daily reports.

BBC: China media: Vietnam row