The Great Leap Forward was a plan implemented by Mao Zedong in China between 1958 and 1961 to spur rapid economic and social development in the country. The plan was one of the most ambitious economic and social engineering projects in history and aimed to rapidly industrialize China and transform it from an agrarian society into a modern, industrialized nation. The plan sought to increase agricultural and industrial production by instituting collectivization in the form of communes, introducing new technologies and increasing labor productivity.

The Great Leap Forward was a sweeping effort to modernize the Chinese economy, and it was largely successful in spurring economic growth in the short-term. In 1958, agricultural production increased by an estimated 40%, and industrial production increased by an estimated 50%. The Great Leap Forward also saw a marked improvement in living standards in Chinese cities, with an estimated 25% increase in average urban incomes in 1959.

However, the Great Leap Forward also had some unintended consequences. The communization of agriculture led to a decline in crop diversity and quality, and the use of new, untested technologies led to a significant drop in agricultural productivity. In addition, the extreme labor demands of the Great Leap Forward led to a sharp decline in the health of Chinese people. This, combined with bad weather and the effects of war on the Chinese economy, led to a period of mass famine and ultimately the death of an estimated 14-45 million people. In the end, the Great Leap Forward was an ambitious attempt to modernize the Chinese economy and society, and while it was initially successful in spurring economic growth, it ultimately failed due to its extreme demands on the Chinese people.