Private plot

Liu and Deng’s reforms restored private plots to farming families. These were small areas that families cultivated for their own benefit. This did not mean replacing the entire collective farming system with privately owned farms.

During the early disorder of the Cultural Revolution, some villagers expanded private plots, sold produce in markets or pursued other independent work. These activities gave households more control over their livelihoods. From 1968, revolutionary committees strengthened control over the countryside, and radical interpretations of the Dazhai campaign pushed communities back towards tighter collectivisation.