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Quick read: China’s break from poverty
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NEWSFLASH: Last year wasn’t all bad. It was also the year China’s eight-year goal to wipe out absolute poverty came to fruition.
What does that mean?
Basically, it means that now there is officially no one in China living under the poverty line.
What is the poverty line?
The poverty line is the least someone earns per day before they are officially recognized as living under poverty. Most countries accept the World Bank’s poverty line, which is US$1.90 per person. China uses its own poverty line.
Why does China have its own
poverty line?
China’s authorities say PPP, or purchasing power parity, should be taken into account when calculating the poverty line. PPP compares what can be bought in different countries with a certain amount of money.
Taking 2011 figures, the poverty line in China was 2,536 yuan (US$360) per person annually, which worked out at 6.95 yuan a day. Going off 2011’s PPP when US$1 came to about 3.04 yuan, China’s poverty line is actually equivalent to around US$2.30 per day. This number comes out 20 percent higher than the global standard.
How did they do that?
China set an eight-year plan, starting in 2013 when about 80 million people were “severely impoverished.” The process included education, investment, job creation, social security and medical subsidies.
Eight-treasure tea 八宝茶
You can’t go far in Dongxiang without being offered a cup of eight-treasure tea, which is a huge custom of the locals.
The name comes from the myriad of ingredients available (usually eight) which can be picked according to your own taste, usually from a pleasantly arranged tray with separated ingredients like tea leaves, rock candy, dried fruits, chrysanthemum, dates, Chinese wolf berries and more.
After you’ve chosen your ingredients, your host will help you pour freshly boiled water in your cup, before covering it with a lid to hold in the heat as it brews. You can also use the lid to mix your tea and then sift ingredients as you sip.
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