Some farmers regret 'leasing' properties for meagre rents
Every day, Yu Xueyang , a 59-year-old farmer from Qilin village in Chongqing's Shijie county, can look out from his house and see the land that has been taken away from him.
The land was taken last year for a tangerine orchard in an experimental rural land-transfer - China's equivalent of a land sale - although much of it remains idle.
Qilin village is one of the earliest rural land-transfer experiments in Chongqing, with arable land first being taken from farmers for a tangerine orchard in 2005. In return, farmers were given a meagre annual rent and promised a share of any future profits.
Mr Yu received about 300 yuan (HK$340) last year, but has not been paid anything this year.
The farmers know the risk is high, but they have little say over how much their land is leased for. Some have refused the offer, but so far, there have been no reports of forced acquisitions.
'It will take three to four years for the trees to bear fruit. I don't see any benefit because we can only have a bonus when the orchard is profitable,' Mr Yu said. 'My land could produce several hundred kilograms of grain every year if it was not taken over.'
