One high-ranking official recently told China Daily that China's development is the grandest experiment in human history, taking the country's historical background and present conditions into consideration.

He said there is no established model so far, and China, because of its big population, cannot afford any failure to borrow Western models.

But, he said this populous country has been open, and will continue to be open, to all legal, political, economic and spiritual legacies from across the world to realize economic modernization and social harmony.

There might not yet be a China model, but China has already offered the world many revelatory experiences and many are grassroots.

Zhang Haoliang, the middle-aged leader of an environmental and anti-poverty NGO in mountainous Sichuan province, shared his experience last month at the Sino-Europe Social Forum in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province.

Seven years ago, he quit his job as a top official in Tongjiang county and started his organization. He has mobilized multi-million-yuan funding from the World Bank and other organizations into village projects, which have been decided on by villagers through a bottom-up approach.

"Based on my life experience, my success has one very important implication," he said. "And that is openness."

In such a remote and poor county, the people gradually accepted his quitting his official post and allowed him to follow the practices of international organizations in implementing projects. And now, the local government is starting to seek advice from him.

There are many similar stories happening in China. Scholars' academic papers and government documents cannot fully paint the diversity and vigor found throughout China.

That is a vital element of any China model that Western scholars may ignore.

The author is chief correspondent of China Daily in Brussels and can be reached at [email protected].