Farmers in Huzhu County, Qinghai, in the northwest, are busy preparing their farmland, rather than themselves, for the coming Spring Festival.

Shen Dazhi, who lives in the village of Xiaozhai, bought 200 kilograms of fertilizer and said that with the money his family earned in 2006, they want to prepare well for the new season's agricultural production.

More and more farmers have been buying seed, pesticides and other production supplies before this Spring Festival, local officials reported. That indicates farmers have changed their traditional view of making plans after Spring Festival and are paying more attention to economic development.

(China Daily February 5, 2007)