Looking back over China's last 30 Years 

1.  On December 18, 1978, Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping gave his answer. In a Communist Party meeting in Beijing that day, the political elite adopted Deng's pragmatic program and launched economic reforms.

2.  Its economy has grown at an average of 9.8 percent since 1978, making it the fourth largest economy in the world.  

3.  Thirty years ago, there was little international trade. There were few tourists and few cars, but there were millions of bicycles on the streets. Now the streets are jammed with cars, and the air is polluted with fumes, grit and noise. 

4.  Virtually everyone had a job 30 years ago, but they earned little money, and there was little to buy.

5.  Deng's reforms set off a series of seismic changes, starting in the countryside with the disbanding of the people's communes. He admonished farmers to work hard and get rich. The farmers responded enthusiastically. Later, Deng shifted the reform to the cities by experimenting with capitalism in designated Special Economic Zones and then spreading it nationwide. 

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/12/18/china.reform.florcruz/index.html