NANJING - Wu Renbao, the retired Communist Party of China (CPC) chief of Huaxi Village in East China's Jiangsu province, died of cancer on Monday afternoon.

Wu, 85, died at 6:58 pm at his home in the village.

Wu Renbao (L-2), the retired Communist Party of China (CPC) chief of Huaxi Village in East China's Jiangsu province. File photo taken?on Feb 23, 2005.??[Photo/Asianewsphoto]

With annual sales revenue of more than 50 billion yuan ($7.93 million), Huaxi Village is one of the richest villages in the country and it is known for its success in realizing common prosperity.

Renowned as China's most eminent farmer, Wu worked hard over the past decades to lead his villagers in striving for common wealth, an ideal regarded as one of the core principles of socialism.

The efforts of Wu and the villagers have turned the once poverty-stricken Huaxi Village into a well-off village featuring villas, cars and a high per capita income.

Wu, who had served as deputy to the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, and as a delegate to the National Congress of the CPC, has been hailed as an outstanding example among the country's many rural Party members.

A feature film named for the former village Party chief that told his legendary stories of developing Huaxi into one of the richest villages in China was shown in cinemas nationwide last October.