While walking along WángfBjìng Boulevard in Béijīng, Ms. Olsen (A), an agricultural specialist iron the United States, and Chén Guōqiéng (B), from the China Travel Service, stop to look at the photos and articles displayed in the building of the Peopled Daily. They are looking at an article about a model connsune, SÌJÌqlng. - A: Zhèige dìfang shì bu shi wōmen yào qù cánguānde? - B: Shì. Guò liǎngtiān wōmen jiù qù. A: Wō kàn, zhèige rénmín gōngshè hǎoxiàng yōu yìdiǎnr tèbié ma, tā-mende shěngchǎn zhùyào shi shūcài hé shulguō. B: Nl shuōde yìdiǎnr yé bú cuò, zhèi Jiù shi yōu míngde SÌJÌqlng Rénmín Gōngshè. A: "SÌJÌqlng"? B:   Duì le, "yìnián sìjì"de "sìjì," "qlng shin là shuì"de "qlng". Nín zài Béijìng Fàndiàn chide cài dàbùfen dōu shi tamen shēngchǎnde. Is this one of the places we're going to visit? Yes. We'll be going in a couple of days. It looks to me as if this people's commune is rather special. Their production is mainly vegetables and fruits. You're absolutely right. This is the famous SÌJÌqlng People's Cossnune. "SÌJÌqlng?" Yes. "SÌJÌ" C"Four Seasons"! as in "yinián sìjì" C"throughout the four seasons of the year," and "qlng" C"green"! as in "qlng shān là shul" C"green hills and green water"!. Most of the food you eat at the Béi-Jīng Hotel is produced by them. - A: Ou! - B: Tǎmen gōngshè yōu sìwànduō m3 t3dì, dàbùfen dōu shi càidì. - A: Càidìde miànji zhàn báifēnzhī duoshlo? Zhèr yōu méiyou xiézhe? - B: Zhèr xiǎzhe ne. Càidì zhàn liǎngwàn liǎngqiǎn m3, yíbànr duō yidiǎnr. - A: Name, hái yōu yíwàn bāqiān m3 ne? Zhòngde dōu shi shénme? - B: Tǎmen shuǒ yòng yíwàn mǔ dì zhòng liángshi. Oh! Their commune has over four hundred mu of land. Most of it is vegetable plots. What percentage do the vegetable plots take up? Is it written here? Yes, it is. The vegetable plots take up 22,000 mu, a little more than half. And what about the other 18,000 mu? What do they grow there? They say they use 10,000 mu to plant grain. - A: fig. ZhiJyào shěngchin shénme Hings hi? - B: Dàozi, yōu míngde Jīngxìdào! Bin lii zhèr yìhòu, tiíntiin chí! A: Aha! Yuánlái ’’Jīngxìdào’* shi Sì-Jìqīng shēngchinde. Tīngshuō chín-liàng hān gio ou! Muchin yōu yì-qiinduō Jin ba? - B: Yōu, milch in zing zài yìqiin yì- qiin yìbii Jin zuōyōu. - A: Ng, zhēnde bú cuò. Nà lìngwài biqiin mil dōu shi shuīguō? - B: Shi. Tāmen gōngshède shuīguō chinliàng yā hān gio. - A: Wō hii yōu yíge wèntí, quin gongshè yōu duōshio rénkōu, yōu duōshio liodònglì? - B: Yōu yíwàn ling bffbliduō hù, sì- wàn sinqiinduō kōu rén, liingwàn liingqiinduō liodònglì, píngjǔn māige liodònglì dāi guīn liingmìl dì na! - A: Yíge ren gain liingmìl dì hān xīnkù ma? - B: Zhǒng cài, shōu cài, xiànzài hii mil bànfa kào Jíqì, quin dāi kào shōu, zānme bù xlnkil ne? A: Ml kàn, túpiànshang yōu bù shio tuōlijī, timende Jīxièhuà shuīpíng xiingding gio ma. B: Zhèige gōngshè xiingding xiinjìn, yōu yìbii bishi liàng qìchē, dà xilo tuōlijī sinbii qīshiduō til, kāshi zhèixiē qìchě zhúyàode gong-zuò shi bi cài sèng dao chéngli qu. - A: Ng, wō dōng le, vS Juéde zhèige gōngshè hān yōu tèdiǎn, nī zài duō tintan, hāo bu hāo? What grain do they niy produce? Rice, the famous Capital-West rice. You’ve been eating it every day since you came here. Ah! So Sìjìqīng produces Capital-West rice. I hear that the yield is very high! The per-mu yield is over one thousand catties, isn’t it? Yes. The per-mu yield is always approximately 1,100 catties. Mm, that's really quite good. So then are the remaining 8,000 mu all fruits? Yes. Their commune has a very high fruit yield, too. I have one more question. What's the population of the whole coonsune, and how many laborers are there? There are 10,800 households, over U3,000 people, and over 22,000 laborers. On the average, every laborer has to take care of two mu of land! Is it very hard work for one person to take care of two mu? At present they still don't have the means to adopt machines. Planting and harvesting have to be done entirely by hand. It's hard work all right. But look, in these pictures there are lots of tractors. Their level of mechanization is pretty high! This commune is quite advanced. They have 180 automobiles, and over 370 tractors. But the main Job of these vehicles is to take the vegetables into the city. Mm, I see. This seems to be a very distinctive commune. Could you tell me more about it? - B: Hlo a! Zhèige gōngshède mēige shēngchàn dàduì dǒu yǒu zìjīde shēngchàn shǒngdiàn—shēngchàn dàduì nl dǒng bu dǒng? A: Wǒ zhidao shēngchàn dàduì, shēng-chànduì, shenmede. B: Nà hào, vǒmen guàn tàmen zhèi-zhǒng zúzhi shēngchànde bànfà Jiào zhuānyèhuà shēngchMn. A: À! Mēige shēngchàn dàduì dǒu yǒu zìjīde zhuinyè. Hàojíle. Zhèi duì fāzhàn shēngchàn yídìng yǒu hēn dàde hàochu. B:   Shi ma! Shēngchàn fāzhànle, rēn- mínde shēnghuǒ shulpíng cái néng tígào aa! A:   Nàme, zhèizhSng zhuānyèhuà shēng chàn zài quánguǒ shi bu shi hēn pffbiàn ne? B: Bú shi, quánguǒ dàbùfen gongshè zhúyào háishi shēngchàn liángshi, zài dà chéngshide Jin Jiāoqū cái yǒu xiàng Sìjìqìng zhèiyangrde gǒngshè. A: Yǒu Jíhui, vǒ hái xiàng qù cān-guàn yiliàngge pùtōngde gǒngshè. Hái yǒu píngyuán hi shāndide nǒng-yè shēngchàn qíngkuàng dàgài yē yǒu hēn duo bù tǒng, rúguǒ yǒu Jl-hui, vǒ hēn xiàng qù liàojiē yíxià tǎmende qǔbié. B: Hàode. ZuìJin Jīnián Zhǒngguǒ nóngyè Jiànshè fizhànde hēn kuàl. Nín shi zhuànjii, nínde yìjian duì vǒoende gǑngzud yídìng yǒu hēn dàde bāngzhu, vǒ yídìng duǒ gēi nín an-pai Jlge dìfang. A: Bú bì kèqi, nín ānpaihàole, qīng zào yidiànr gàosu vo. Every production brigade of the commune has its ovn production priority-do you understand "production brigade?" I knov about productions brigades, production teams, and so forth. Okay, veil ve call this method of organizing production of theirs specialized production. Ah! Each production brigade has its ovn specialty. Great. This must be of great help in expanding production. Sure! The people's standard of living can only be raised vhen produetion expands. So is this kind of specialized production very conuon throughout the whole country? No, most of the communes in the coúntry still mainly produce grain. It's only in the close suburbs of big cities that one finds conmunes like Sìjìqìng. If I get the chance, I'd also like to visit one or tvo ordinary communes. Also, farming production is probably very different on the plains from that in mountainous regions. If it's possible, I'd like very much to go look into the differences. All right. In the past few years, China's agricultural construction has been moving rapidly ahead. As an expert, your opinions can help us a great deal in our vork. I'll be sure to arrange a few more visits for you. You needn't be polite. Please let me knov soon after you've made the arrangements.