Change agent: This month marks the 30-year anniversary of economic reforms launched by late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. The opening up of the economy unleashed an explosion of economic development that since 1981 has freed an astounding 600 million plus Chinese from extreme poverty and made China a leading world power. Here, a man passes a billboard of Deng with a modern-day skyline near the Olympic Sailing Center in Qingdao, about 340 miles (550 km) southeast of Beijing, on July 1.

Great leap into the 21st century: Prior to Deng’s efforts, China’s other well-known attempt at economic development was Mao Zedong’s infamous Great Leap Forward, started in 1958. By 1962, some 30 million people had died from starvation. Deng’s agricultural policies fared much better. He permitted the dismantling of collective farms, and farmers quickly engaged in private tilling. Profits skyrocketed, and more rural people emerged from poverty from 1980 to 1984 than even in the 15 years from 1990 to 2005. Here, reflecting the state of agriculture in the early years of the People’s Republic, a man plows a rice field in November 1954 in Hunan province.

Signing on: Deng receives much attention for the reforms, but 18 farmers in Xiaogang village were ahead of him. In 1978, shortly before Deng’s reforms, they secretly signed an agreement to divide communal land into individual sections, as depicted in this sculpture seen at a Xiaogang museum Dec. 3. In one year, their harvest doubled and they became national heroes. Today, Xiaogang farmers are once again ahead of the game. Some have leased their land to a corporation that can modernize their farms, a transfer of land-use rights that President Hu Jintao is still working to make legal.

Coming to America: On Jan. 1, 1979, China and the United States normalized diplomatic relations when then President Jimmy Carter agreed to sever relations with Taiwan. Soon afterward, Deng toured the United States, becoming the first Chinese leader since the 1949 creation of the People’s Republic to visit the country. The 5-foot-tall (152 cm) Deng did everything from telling American business executives that China needed their technology and investment to making himself almost disappear in a ten-gallon hat at a Texas barbeque. Here, he and Carter meet one another with smiles at the White House on Jan. 31, 1979.

In the zone: Deng selected Shenzhen to be a proving ground for economic liberalization policies he saw in other Asian countries. In 1980, he designated it as China’s first “special economic zone,” essentially an incubator for new export-oriented industries. Nearly three decades later, what was once a fishing village of 30,000 on the border with Hong Kong has exploded into a metropolis of 12 million. Per capita income in Shenzhen is the highest in mainland China, topping $10,000, and the city supplies 1 percent of the world’s exports. Here, trucks from Hong Kong drive into Shenzhen on May 7, 1997.

Stocking up: In the 1980s, China was on track to become a manufacturing and export powerhouse. However, continued economic growth also rested on the development of robust financial markets. Recognizing this need, in 1990 China established the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE), seen here on Dec. 19, 1997. By the end of 2007, the exchange counted 71.3 million investors and boasted a market capitalization of nearly $3.7 trillion. As the current global financial crisis deepens, though, China’s stock markets face challenges. The value of the SSE’s main index has fallen about 60 percent this year.

Assembling a fortune: Nowadays, it seems like just about everything is “Made in China.” Deng’s special economic zones led to an explosion of factories. Foreign manufacturing companies have set up shop to take advantage of low-cost labor that churns out everything from shoes to cars to artificial Christmas trees. Here, assembly-line workers at a Billion International Holdings factory in Guangdong province put together educational computers on Nov. 13, 1997.

Trading up: At the heart of Deng’s reforms was the process of opening up China to the world after years of isolation. Although Deng died in 1997, the spirit of his reforms continued, reaching a seminal moment with China’s accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001. Membership in the WTO provided China with new trading opportunities while also forcing Chinese companies to compete with foreign companies. Here, a billboard in Beijing on Dec. 23, 2001, welcomes China’s membership into the WTO.

A drive for success: Buicks roll down the catwalk at the opening ceremony of a Shanghai General Motors plant on May 28, 2005. General Motors (GM) opened its first Chinese factory in 1997, becoming one of the early foreign car manufacturers in China. During the phenomenal growth of recent years, China’s car market has become the second largest in the world in terms of units sold, behind only the United States. Despite the recent economic downturn, sales of passenger cars are still expected to grow 10 percent this year (compared with 24 percent or more in recent years).

In the fast lane: Cars zoom on a highway in Shanghai on May 3, 2005. China’s first expressway was built in 1988 near Shanghai; its length: 11.5 miles (18.5 km). By 2005, however, China’s expressway system had expanded to 25,480 miles (41,000 km), with 15,350 miles (24,700 km) constructed in the first half of this decade. China expects to complete more than 30,000 miles (48,200 km) by the time the decade is out. To build these roads, the Chinese government spent more on transportation infrastructure in the five years from 2001 to 2005 than in the previous five decades together.

Riding to modernity: Passengers walk on the shiny new subway platform at Beijing Capital International Airport’s newly constructed Terminal 3 on July 19. The Airport Line began running on that day in preparation for August’s Olympic Games. During the games, from Aug. 8 to 24, more than 68 million people rode Beijing’s subway—with the daily number peaking at 4.9 million on Aug. 22—and the punctuality rate during the Olympics was 99.8 percent, the Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.

Raising their game: The most visible symbol of China’s powerful economic rise during the past 30 years is perhaps the 2008 Olympic Games. The country spent a whopping $44 billion hosting its coming-out event, dwarfing the $12.8 billion spent by Greece for the 2004 Games. The bling went on overdrive during Aug. 8’s opening ceremony, seen here, leaving London with a lavish standard it’s not even trying to match for the 2012 Games it will be hosting, especially given the current economic crisis.

Market madness: China’s economy has been growing at a dizzying speed, but many dangers lie ahead. The current worldwide economic crisis, pollution, and other challenges make continued, fast-pace growth less than guaranteed. Nonetheless, Deng was prescient when he said in 1991, “In the end, convincing those who do not believe in socialism will depend on our nation’s development. If we can reach a comfortable standard of living by the end of this century [the 20th], then that will wake them up a bit.” Indeed, the Dragon has definitely roused the world.