Rural mainland China has undergone dramatic changes since the establishment of the People's Republic in 1949. The collectivization of agriculture basically altered the rural arrangement of conventional China. Using a series of mass media campaigns, Mao Tse-Tung to some extent transformed the traditional rural social system to what he envisioned as a modern socialist system. Although mass media are not as advanced in China as in other developed nations, the top-down communication strategy serves the rural development program well. China has relied on interpersonal communication which has proved effective in the rural development program, making up for the backwardness of electronic media. Print media also helped to enlist mass participation by reporting Mao's addresses and shaping the party's rural development policy. With the new leadership and modernization program in force, it is expected that China will take advantage of developing mass media to promote and foster future rural developments. (DF)