VILLAGERS IN MILITARY UNIFORMS PRACTISE MARTIAL ARTS IN NANJIE, 1999-09-20 (photo)

FOR RELEASE WITH FEATURE BC-CHINA-ANNIVERSARY-COMMUNISM - Villagers in military uniforms practise martial arts in front of a statue of late chairman Mao Zedong in Nanjie, a village of 13,000 people in the impoverished central province of Henan - the cradle of Chinese civilisation. Die-hards hold up Nanjie as utopia, free of the plagues of corruption and crime that have set in elsewhere over the last 20 years as post-Mao China pursues capitalist-style economic reform. As China celebrates 50 years of communist rule, Mao Zedong's vision of a classless, egalitarian society is dying in the world's most populous nation. Picture taken 6AUG99. ASW/PB