To celebrate the 40th anniversary of a village-owned business, Changjiang Village, in China’s Jinagsu Province, has given every one f its 3,000 villagers 100-gram bars of gold and silver.

It’s no secret that China has the world’s fastest growing major economy, but some of its residents like to flaunt their riches anyway. Take Changjiang village, for example. This little settlement happens to own the Jiangsu Xin Chang Jiang Group, one of the top 20 private enterprise in China. It is involved in eight different industries, including electricity, chemicals and metals, and it’s apparently very successful in all of them. At least that’s the signal they’re sending through their latest gesture of generosity. Following a promise made back in 2009, the village’s party leader recently ordered over 600 kilograms of gold and silver, and  handed it to every villager in 100-gram bars.

For security reasons, the exact date the precious metals would arrive in Changjiang wasn’t revealed to any of the villagers, but on March 15, every family received a household safe to keep their valuables in. Everyone sensed the big moment was approaching, and just two days later a barge carrying the gold arrived and they were all asked to come and collect their gifts. Every person was given a gold bar and a silver bar, so the largest family in the village ended up with 700 grams of gold, worth 280,000 RMB ($43,750), plus 700 grams of silver.  But it’s safe to say even the ones that received just one bar of each were overjoyed.

Asked what they were going to do with their precious gifts, some said they would keep them as heirlooms, while others were determined to turn them into beautiful jewelry for their future sun-in-laws. Apparently, the unmarried men and women of Changjiang are very popular in China, precisely because of their wealth. I guess unlike other parents who have to go to marriage markets, the ones in this village just have to pick from the many offers.

But this isn’t the only present the people of Changjiang have received for owning one of the most successful businesses in China. In previous years, each family received a villa, stock dividends, as well as a previous gold giveaway in 2010. Last year the company spent 64,000 yuan ($10,000) just for decorating each of the village villas…

Not too long ago, we featured another of China’s rich villages, Huaxi Village, where you can find replicas of some of the world’s most famous landmarks.

Source: Shanghai Daily via ChinaSmack