Li visits urban community in Shandong

Premier Li Keqiang visited a village-turned urban community in Shandong province on Thursday morning, kicking off a fact-finding trip on urbanization.

"You are all farmers, and I used to be a farmer too. So I understand perfectly that the biggest dream of a farmer is to lead a life like a city fellow," Li told residents as he walked into the yard of the Yuanqiao community in Dezhou, Shandong.

Wang Fengyuan, 71, said living in an urban community is more convenient than life in a village because of better transportation and medical care and a greater selection of daily goods.

Yuanqiao community was built in 2010 and all residents of the former Yuanqiao village moved there, as part of urbanization efforts in the province. Shandong initiated a campaign to transform villages into communities in 2010.

Zhang Hui, a police officer at the station of Yuanqiao community, said the community houses more than 1,400 residents and all are former farmers.

The community still bears distinct characteristics of its former village status, such as signs reading, "Please do not bring firework into the buildings."

Zhang said migrant workers who apply to move their hukou to Yuanqiao community can have the procedure completed in 10 days.

China has two kinds of hukou, or household registration system. A person holding a rural hukou is eligible for less welfare and less education opportunities than an urban resident.