There are also rural festivals，farming techniques，lifestylesand interesting tales that are rich in cultural content such asthe Shehuo of the Central Plains and the dragon boat races ofsouthern China.Moreover，China has 56 officially recognizedethnic groups including the Dai people of Yunnan，the Miaopeople of Guizhou，the Zhuang people of Guangxi，the Yaopeople of Hunan，the Li people of Hainan，the Uygur people ofXinjiang and the Tibetan people of Tibet，all of whom attractpeople to enjoy their local customs.These ethnic minoritygroups are good at singing and dancing.They are ebullient andunrestrained and have maintained their unique lifestyles andcustoms for generation after generation in the areas they inhabit，providing ample resources for tourists.
The Chinese countryside has been undergoing greatchanges since the government began instituting the reform andopening up policy.The rural economy has been developingrapidly.The lives of rural residents have greatly improved.Theappearance of the countryside has changed considerably.TheChinese government has recently introduced the goals andrequirements for building a new socialist countryside.Ruraldwellers across the country are developing modern agriculture，improving the rural living environment，and building a newsocialist countryside.During this process，a great many modelvillages and model plots for modern agriculture such as HuaxiVillage in Jiangsu，Hancunhe Town，and Liuminying eco-friendlyfarms in Beijing and Longjing Village in Hangzhou，Zhejiang.
These model villages and agricultural plots are prime examples ofthe new image and appearance of the new socialist countryside.
Countr yside of China shows the natural and socialphenomena of these villages in the Chinese countryside througha combination of tradition and modernity.The book providesa detailed description of 30-plus selected villages in Chinausing both text and illustrations.The book covers traditionaldwellings，folk customs and marriage customs，farm life，countryscenes，farming culture，ethnic culture and the building of anew socialist countryside，reflecting the unique traditions ofvarious types of villages in different regions of the country.
It could be said that Countryside of China is a tour to see thenatural and human sights in the Chinese countryside，as wellas a tour to see the folk customs and culture in the countrysideand a tour to see ethnic minority culture.The abundant naturalresources，agricultural resources，human resources，and folkculture resources are the outstanding features of the Chinesecountryside.The countryside attracts large numbers of Chinesecity dwellers，resulting in a great exchange of concepts，culture，news，and knowledge between urban and rural areas of thecountry.Moreover，the Chinese countryside is attractive to overseas tourists who come to appreciate the folk customs ofChinese rural residents，thereby increasing understandingamong different peoples of the world and promoting mutualdevelopment of all countries of the world.
Anything to do with national culture belongs to the world.
The countryside of this rapidly developing country of China，with its unique mix of ethnic groups，is now coming into viewfor our friends at home and abroad and becoming a focal pointfor increasing friendship among the peoples of the world.Thecountryside of China is welcoming friends from all over theworld with their new image and enthusiasm.
Guo Huancheng
March 6，2007