This is the Chinese village of Huaxi a few decades ago.<br/> It was little more than a backwater, home to farms and a few scattered industries.<br/> But this is Huaxi today, as it prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary.<br/> The village, reputedly the richest in China, celebrated its first half-century by unveiling a towering skyscraper.<br/> At 328 metres, the structure dwarfs everthing else on the Huaxi skyline.<br/> But perhaps the most impressive part of the building is this 1onetonne solid gold bull, on the 60th floor.<br/> The village founder says its success was based on a pragmatic mix of capitalism and communism.<br/> (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) WU RENBAO, HUAXI VILLAGE'S FOUNDING PARTY SECRETARY (Interspersed with translator's voice):<br/> "I think that whichever system you are in, which system can help people's life, and which system can let people be happy, then that is the best system."<br/> The village functions like a commune, with each of its 36,000 residents putting a share of their salaries into commercial ventures controlling a vast business empire worth billions of dollars.<br/> Andrew Raven, Reuters
