Young students carry benches away from a school playground after taking part in a rehearsal in the village of Xiahe on the outskirts of Xian June 23, two days ahead of U.S. President Bill Clinton's visit. Far from the bustling cities that attract foreign investment and nourish global trade for China, hundreds of thousands of villages across the country are undergoing revolutionary change. Clinton's visit to the village is expected to spotlight some of the village changes that are reshaping much of China's vast rural land.

BY/JDP/ME