The 'Four Pests' campaign was a public health initiative during the Great Leap Forward aimed at eradicating pests considered harmful to crops and human health: mosquitoes, rodents, flies, and sparrows. The campaign was significant as it reflected the Maoist belief in the mass mobilisation of the population to achieve collective goals. However, the campaign, particularly the extermination of sparrows, which were natural predators for locusts, led to ecological imbalances, exacerbating the agricultural problems during the Great Leap Forward. The subsequent locust swarms contributed to the period's agricultural failure and famine.

During the Great Leap Forward, the Chinese government aimed to integrate industry and agriculture by establishing People's Communes, which were large, self-reliant communities that combined agricultural production with small-scale industrial projects. The idea was for these communes to produce agricultural surplus to feed industrial workers and use local resources and labour to create industrial goods, effectively blurring the lines between rural and urban economies. This policy was intended to simultaneously develop agriculture and industry, eliminating the distinction between peasant and worker. However, the communes were largely unsuccessful, leading to decreased productivity in both sectors.

The Great Leap Forward impacted the Chinese education system by promoting political indoctrination and the study of Maoist thought as central to the curriculum, often at the expense of academic and scientific rigour. The movement also introduced labour-intensive activities in schools, with students participating in agricultural and industrial work as part of their education, reflecting the ethos of manual labour being as important as intellectual study. This disrupted formal education and lowered educational standards, with long-term negative effects on the intellectual development of a generation and the professional skills available in the workforce.

Soviet assistance was instrumental during the First Five-Year Plan, both as a model for development and through direct aid. China adopted the Soviet-style planned economy, which emphasised rapid industrialisation, particularly in heavy industry. The USSR provided technical support, expertise, and loans, which were critical in building key infrastructures, such as the establishment of 156 major industrial projects. This collaboration not only facilitated the initial industrialisation efforts but also strengthened the Sino-Soviet political alliance during the early years of the Cold War, aligning China more closely with Soviet interests and socialist ideology.

The First Five-Year Plan catalysed urbanisation in China as the government channelled resources towards the development of heavy industry predominantly located in urban areas. This led to a significant migration of rural population to cities in search of better employment opportunities. The rapid urbanisation, while contributing to industrial growth, also resulted in overpopulation in cities and a strain on urban resources and housing. Additionally, the emphasis on urban industrial growth widened the gap between urban and rural living standards, creating a demographic and economic divide that would shape China's social landscape for decades to come.