Spark Program

The name of this program arisen from the late Chairman Mao Zedong's saying that "a single spark can start a prairie fire," which was quoted by the State Science and Technology Commission when it proposed to the State Council boosting the development of the local economy through launching a batch of scientific projects featuring "little investment, short duration but quick returns" in May 1985, to boost the economic development of rural areas in China. It was approved by the central government of China in early 1986.