Economic History of China --1978, the First Year of Reform and Opening Up

This is a series of videos introducing the economic history of China, narrating the thirty years of China’s reform and opening-up.. From the perspective of a Chinese person, I aim to narrate the twists and turns China has experienced in order to rapidly transition from a poor agricultural nation to the world’s second-largest economy. The hardships and challenges faced during this process are difficult for foreigners to comprehend unless recounted by the Chinese themselves. The year 1978 is as important to the Chinese people as the founding year of the People’s Republic of China. It is considered the beginning of China’s economic construction and development. Since 1978, China has awakened from ignorance and absurdity. Starting as a backward agrarian nation with nearly one billion impoverished people, it embarked on a rapid transformation and development, becoming the world’s factory within 30 years. The magnitude of economic and social changes in these 30 years is staggering. 00:00 Brief introduction of this video series. 02:00 The absurd era 06:17 Breaking through Mao Zedong’s ideological constraints 09:24 Restore the college entrance examination 12:03 Open the doors to the outside world. 15:14 Xiaogang village—the pioneer of land system reform. 17:58 Start economic cooperation with capitalist countries.