A girl sets off the fireworks in western China's municipality Chongqing on Jan. 28.

Fast economic expansion has benefited all citizens: more and more people in rural areas have shrugged off poverty; urban residents are becoming increasingly wealthier.

A new survey has shown that one out of 10 Beijing residents nowowns a car, which was unimaginable a few years ago.

The Chinese government has vowed to build a harmonious society,something the top authority has always emphasized. On the eve of the Spring Festival, President Hu Jintao traveled to Northwest China's Shaanxi Province to talk with local farmers and prepare food together with them for the festival. Premier Wen Jiabao stayed in a farmer's home on New Year's Eve in East China's Shandong Province.

Chinese farmers were awarded a huge gift this year. Beginning Jan. 1, they are no longer required to pay agricultural taxes, marking the end of a tax that has been in place for 2,600 years.

People get together to watch fireworks displayed for celebration. Beijing municipal authorities brews a stop to the 12-year-long ban on firecracker display during the Spring Festival in the city. (baidu)
"We have more money to spend this year," said Shi Yunhao, a farmer in Doushan Village, Mengyin County of Shandong Province. His family of four paid agricultural taxes of 204.23 yuan (about 25.22 U.S. dollars) in 2004, 105.45 yuan in 2005, and now nothing in 2006.