Video

China, currently the world's fourth largest economy, also boasts the world's fourth largest tourism market. Increasingly luxurious and fashionable tourist locations are springing up across China and the Great Wall is a favourite location. As China's economy surges ahead, the gap between rich and poor is widening. Villagers such as Wang Zhenjun and his family who live in one of the small communities surrounding Beijing's great Wall have lived in the area for generations. A decade ago this used to be a secluded village until the new Badaling Great Wall highway carved the community in two. From then on the highway has ferried luxury bus-loads of tourists out to the Great Wall scenic spots whilst fleets of lorries carry supplies into the capital. Wang has a wife and two children to support on a wage of 4800 Yuan ($675 U.S. dollars) a year, he has watched increasingly wealthier tourists pouring into the area. "Envy them? Of course I envy them. Its all about money and investment, that's everything," he said. Wang recognises the improving economy has created a divide, but is banking on this children to have a better standards of living with education. "Its because of this gap that I always make my children work hard so that they can do well for themselves and improve their lives, then of course they will look after us," said Wang. Wang's wife, Liu Shaoqing, sees the advantages of development in the area but says that they have done very little to alter her own standard of life. "So far there's been nothing, up until now we have not seen anything of it. There are a lot of scenic tourist industry spots that these tourist companies do not know about. If only we could meet with them we could suggest how to use the people who live here and local places as tourist business," she said. Spread out across almost eight kilometres of mountainside the part luxury hotel, part experimental architecture venture is a far cry from Wang Zhengjun's neighbouring village. One night in the Commune, a luxury five star retreat only a few kilometres from the Wang family's village, costs more than half of Wang Zhengjun's yearly wage. Commune has brought jobs to the surrounding area, an army of around 200 cleaners have been brought in from across China, all of whom live in villages similar to that of Wang Zhengjun. Marketing itself as 'boutique zen', Commune has attracted 200,000 customers from across the world over the past two years. It has become a popular retreat amongst Chinese celebrities and wealthy Chinese, it also hosts meetings between foreign and domestic government leaders. The Commune's 42 villas have been designed by 12 architects from across Asia, each villa has its own definitive style. The "suitcase house" has furniture hidden away under floors and within walls. To rent a whole villa, in peak season, costs 16,600 Yuan or $2,685 U.S. dollars per night, a price that most of the local villagers and staff would never be able to afford. Adelina Ye, the Director of Communes Sales and Marketing Department, says that Commune plays its part in the local economy. "Because of the existence of the luxury five star property in the community, definitely it helps drive the economy, nearby economy especially here because of the overseas customers or the business coming to visit the Commune definitely can help a lot for the tourism in this area here," she said. China's leaders have gathered in the capital this week for China's annual parliament, led by Premier Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao. Delegates from across the country will meet to formulate government policy. However, many delegates to the country's largely rubber stamp parliament remain supportive of the governments handling of the problem. Hu Zhibing, a delegate to the parliament from Xinjiang province, in the far north-west of China, is confident that the government is addressing this discrepancy. "Every country has this divide between the rich and poor, it exists everywhere. The Chinese government is trying to narrow the gap, in the cities and also in the country," he said. In the meantime, as China's development rushes on, luxury and subsistence living will continue to live side by side under China's Communist government.