Model people’s commune, propaganda poster from the Great Leap Forward, 1958. At the top right are three blast furnaces. To the left of these, a fertilizer factory and a cement factory. Centre right, a research field, including scientist (with magnifying glass), lecturer, and a busfull of interested persons from other communes. Top left, fields of grain and cotton. Left centre, granaries. Further forward, hospital and collective dining hall. Bottom left, retirement home. (International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam, http://www.iisg.nl). Background to the Great Leap Forward