BEIJING, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua said Thursday that local authorities should draw on the experience of east China's Zhejiang Province to improve rural life across the country.

Zhejiang's practice has proved an effective way of improving the rural environment and will help China to revitalize rural areas, Hu said at a conference in Beijing.

"Local authorities should adapt Zhejiang's experience to their own realities and make plans that are in line with their respective stages of development, local cultures, conditions and customs," he said.

"Local officials should put the work on top of their agendas, increase input, improve the work mechanism and give full play to the main role and the pioneering spirit of rural residents."

Since 2003, Zhejiang has implemented a project to overhaul the living environment in villages. At the end of last year, 97 percent of villages in the province had completed such overhauls.