Yunnan鈥檚 poverty alleviation drive gathers pace as deadline looms
Print Edition
Known for cloud-shrouded snow mountains, pristine plateau lakes, lush rainforests and diverse ethnic cultures, Yunnan, a province in the remote southwest, has been deemed one of the trendiest tourist destinations in China.
Beautiful as Yunnan鈥檚 mountainous terrain is in the eyes of tourists, it has nevertheless barred some local residents from the world outside for generations and mired them in abject poverty until now.
By 2019, the poverty-stricken population in Yunnan was about 442,000, making the province one of the main battlefields of China鈥檚 nationwide poverty alleviation efforts, as the country races against time to eradicate absolute poverty by the end of this year.
Hua Liumei has never seen a baseball game, but she is now an expert at making baseballs.
The 29-year-old is a quality inspector at a baseball workshop in a resettlement site in Tuoping Village, Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture. The prefecture has some of Yunnan鈥檚 most inhospitable areas, with many villages perched on cliffs at elevations of over 2,000 meters. For these villagers, the only path out of poverty is relocating to places with better living conditions.
Hua started her job in the workshop last year after her family moved from their old log cabin in the mountains to a new apartment in the resettlement site. Before that, Hua, like many of her peers, had worked in big cities in eastern China to support her family.
鈥淚t鈥檚 better to work near home because I can take care of my family while making money.鈥
鈥淢y family and our pigs and cattle crowded our small two-story cabin. With the livestock staying on the first floor, it stank so much in the summer,鈥 she recalled. 鈥淎nd we could barely feed ourselves by growing corn and potatoes.鈥
Besides, attending school meant a four-hour walk on rugged mountain roads and a spine-chilling zip line crossing over the raging Nujiang River.
鈥淲ith such bad conditions, there would be no future for me and my village,鈥 Hua said.
So, when the local government launched the poverty-relief relocation program last year, she did not hesitate to relocate her family. Their new home has a flush toilet, an electric water heater and a variety of furnishings. Hospitals and kindergartens are also in place.
Steady source of income
Relocation is an important approach to poverty-reduction. Across Yunnan, nearly one million poverty-stricken people have moved to more habitable areas in recent years, gaining access to better job opportunities and public services.
At resettlement sites, poverty-alleviation workshops have been established and industries have been developed according to local conditions, ensuring a steady source of income for the relocated residents.
To consolidate the province鈥檚 poverty alleviation achievements, technology has played a key role in the development of local industries.
In Laowo Township, an orange orchard covering over more than 20 hectares and equipped with an intelligent drip irrigation system was built last year. The orchard is managed by an orange-planting cooperative co-founded by 132 poor local households.
The drip irrigation system, controlled with a smartphone, can reduce human effort, save water and fertilizers and increase yields, said Li Jinxue, a researcher from the Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, who also works as Laowo鈥檚 deputy Party secretary to help with the township鈥檚 poverty alleviation efforts.
Liu Heping, a local farmer, said he earns a monthly salary of 2,600 yuan (US$373) as vice president of the cooperative and he has transferred his land to the cooperative for an annual rent of 9,000 yuan.
鈥淭he orange orchard will become a ready source of money for us when the trees begin to yield later this year,鈥 he said.
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