Chinanews, Shanghai, July 30 – July 27, 2007 was the 20th anniversary of the release of China Charity Lottery, from which more than 80.9 billion yuan of donations have been collected, and more than 10 million people have benefited from it.In the 1980s, social charity in China faced the biggest financial problem ever, but there were more than 150 million people in need of urgent aid. Statistics show that there were no community services in the country then, and 50% of rural areas wanted for old-age care centers.Thus in 1986, the Ministry of Civil Affairs initiated the release of China Charity Lottery, when the first lottery ticket was sold in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province in 1987.By last June 30, the total sales value of China Charity Lottery reached 242.3 billion yuan, and more than 150 thousand charity projects had been funded by it.