Economic Growth in Manchuria: the Haves and the Have-Nots

"Not much has changed for Qitaihe minters in 30 years--except the world around them. The privatization of some local mines, along with alleged government corruption has spawned a prosperous new class that exists side by side with the old. Modern high-rises tower over huts in Xinjian Coal Miners' Village; sleek black Audi sedans zoom past miners straining to haul wooden carts up a hill. The wealth has not trickled down to Chang and his family. In the shadow of a coal mountain, he and his wife, Yuan Chenglian, subsist on a diet of cabbage, potatoes, and corn gruel, splurging on meat only twice a year. One of the few decorations in their spartan home is a wedding showing a well-scrubbed couple in rental finery--he in a black tux, she in a long white gown carrying a dainty parasol. Yuan looks at her grimy clothes and laughs apologetically. 'These photographers,' she says, ' can make anybody look beautiful.'" -by Brook Larmer

A great story in this month's National Geographic: