6 billion dollars by the early 1990s. Agriculture reached even the rural areas. The industrial output through manufacturing, mining, electricity generation and building and construction grew at an amazing rate. (Microsoft Encarta). Prior to WWII the area known as Manchuria was called Manchukuo, This prime area of land provides most of China's food and industrial wealth. In the center of this region sugar beets, soybeans and wheat are grown. This is China's largest and most fertile farming area totaling 140,000 square miles. (McLenighan 43). For years the Chinese operated under a feudal system, whereby the land was owned by a small few who depended on their peasant farmers to pay their rents. The taxes levied against them by the imperial government caused very little profit to be made. It was not until 1949 when the Communist Party established a unified government, with an emphasis placed on slowing the rate of inflation and ending unneeded food shortages. Thus changing the unemployment situation in China. (Microsoft Encarta). Farming and agriculture are important elements in China. These industries not only provide the food and fiber needed for the Chinese people but also about 80% of its people depend on this work for their livelihood. These enterprising people have developed an elaborate system of maintaining the nutrient levels in the soil by collecting all organic wastes, including human waste, fermenting them and applying them to the crops. (Compton's Interactive). China has nearly all of it cultivated land irrigated. They have more irrigated land than any other country. Through the commune system of agriculture, more experimentation was done in planting and growing crops in favorable areas. The rural farmers used to work these fields were given a piece of land for their own use and void of taxes. (Microsoft Encarta). Coal and iron for the regions industries come primarily from the Changpai Mountains in the eastern portion of China.
