The paper is organized into three sections. The first section deals with the concept of building a new socialist countryside and the main reasons for putting forward such a notion. In the second section，the author discusses his recent field impressions from Shaanxi province. Finally，the author tries to answer the question-what makes a village rich and argues that building a new socialist countryside is an admirable concept，however，there is need to give high priority to promotion and development of Township and Village Enterprises （TVEs） especially in western and central regions and human capital enhancement in rural areas. The paper is primarily China-specific，however，the study also provides comparative insights from India.