Grassroots efforts bring far-reaching rewards

Liang added that grassroots levels are important testing fields for Party and government officials. By working at such levels, they can make active decisions and solve real problems, while also bringing well-being to the people and creating better relations between the public, the government and the Party, he said.

More importantly, by seeing real progress made through their efforts, the officials work harder and now have greater ambitions, Liang said.

Ningde's GDP rose from 109.5 billion yuan in 2011 to 355.4 billion yuan last year, ranking fifth in Fujian, and the city's growth rate has remained in the top spot in the province for four consecutive years, he said.

"Local government officials used to rely on money from higher levels of government for development, but now we only ask for policy support, and do the rest ourselves," Liang added.