Shanxi lifts villagers out of poverty through poverty relief efforts

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Combination photo shows villagers renovating infrastructure in Nanpingtouwu Village of Shipo Township, Huguan County, north China's Shanxi Province (top, undated file photo); and an aerial view of Nanpingtouwu Village on April 21, 2020 (bottom, photo taken by Cao Yang). Residents in Nanpingtouwu Village scraped a living due to underdeveloped infrastructure, limited natural resources and low productivity. Life in the village has improved when cash crops and herbs are planted, and local handicrafts are turned into products. Since 2016, the village started to seek development in geo-tourism, taking advantage of the scenery of the nearby Taihang mountain valleys. Its colour-painted houses have also become a new attraction for tourists looking for an artistic tinge. The recent poverty relief efforts by Shanxi Province include: make road networks access to rural villages, relocate rural residents to better housing, afforest barren lands with green trees, and stimulate employment by developing tourism. Without these, the province's many plateau and mountain villages would have remained impoverished due to lack of decent roads and arable lands, plus the ensuing loss of labour force and industrial diversity. By February 2020, a total of 7,993 villages in all of the 58 impoverished counties in Shanxi have shaken off poverty, with the incidence of poverty dropping to less than 0.1 percent. (Xinhua)