ROADMAP TO RENEWAL
In Shibadong Village in the central province of Hunan, President Xi Jinping first proposed the policy of targeted poverty alleviation in November 2013. The village shook off poverty in 2017 and is thriving by developing tourism and agriculture. Shi Jinlan, Deputy General Manager of Shibadong Rural Tourism Co. Ltd., told People’s Daily that in 2019, the village received 400,000 visitors. This was a drastic increase from 300,000 in 2018, when villagers saw their tourism revenue exceed 3 million yuan ($428,000).
Shibadong is just one of the many examples of China’s historic anti-poverty campaign. Liu Yongfu, head of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, said at a recent conference that more than 10 million people and about 340 counties were expected to have risen above the poverty line in 2019.
The battle against poverty will not stop until complete victory is secured, according to the Central Rural Work Conference in Beijing on December 20-21, 2019.
