"and life expectancy is lower than the region's average"
China poverty alleviation, raising standard of living
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"and life expectancy is lower than the region's average"
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Tibet villagers move out of reserve for wild animals
By Yin Han Source:Global Times Published: 2018/6/19 19:48:39
More than a thousand Tibetan residents moved out of a nature reserve area to "give the place back" to wild animals in northern Tibet, which experts say will also improve their own quality of life.
The 1,102 local Tibetans were from two villages in Nyima county, with an average altitude of over 5,000 meters and more than 1,000 kilometers to the north of Lhasa in Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.
Most of them are herdsmen, and arrived in Doilungdepen county in Lhasa on Monday, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
To help the migrants adapt to the new environment, the local government invested 226.26 million yuan ($35.3 million) to build facilities, including homes and schools.
Relocating residents from the reserve area "reduces the impact on wild animals caused by human activity," Dechen Lhundrup, director of the forest public security bureau of Nyima county told Xinhua.
Both villages are located within the Qiangtang nature reserve, which covers an area of more than 200,000 square kilometers in northern Tibet and is home to over 400 types of wild animals.
"Now that people have moved out of the area, it is possible to remove the chain-link fences which once impeded wild animals from migrating. Some animals, including Tibet antelopes, could get injured because of those fences," Dechen Lhundrup said in Xinhua's report.
The relocation is the first high-altitude resettlement project for "ecological migrants" in Tibet, which would set aside 4,671,900 hectares of grassland and space in northern Tibet for wild animals, Xinhua reported.
The northern Tibet grassland, while an important place for wild animals, "poses a hostile environment for people," Xiong Kunxin, a professor at Beijing's Minzu University of China, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
"Fierce wind, sand and extremely low temperatures are normal in the area for about nine months a year. Moving out of the area to Lhasa will undoubtedly improve their quality of life," Xiong said, who had lived in the northern grassland area for about two and half years in the 1970s.
By Yin Han Source:Global Times Published: 2018/6/19 19:48:39
More than a thousand Tibetan residents moved out of a nature reserve area to "give the place back" to wild animals in northern Tibet, which experts say will also improve their own quality of life.
The 1,102 local Tibetans were from two villages in Nyima county, with an average altitude of over 5,000 meters and more than 1,000 kilometers to the north of Lhasa in Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.
Most of them are herdsmen, and arrived in Doilungdepen county in Lhasa on Monday, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
To help the migrants adapt to the new environment, the local government invested 226.26 million yuan ($35.3 million) to build facilities, including homes and schools.
Relocating residents from the reserve area "reduces the impact on wild animals caused by human activity," Dechen Lhundrup, director of the forest public security bureau of Nyima county told Xinhua.
Both villages are located within the Qiangtang nature reserve, which covers an area of more than 200,000 square kilometers in northern Tibet and is home to over 400 types of wild animals.
"Now that people have moved out of the area, it is possible to remove the chain-link fences which once impeded wild animals from migrating. Some animals, including Tibet antelopes, could get injured because of those fences," Dechen Lhundrup said in Xinhua's report.
The relocation is the first high-altitude resettlement project for "ecological migrants" in Tibet, which would set aside 4,671,900 hectares of grassland and space in northern Tibet for wild animals, Xinhua reported.
The northern Tibet grassland, while an important place for wild animals, "poses a hostile environment for people," Xiong Kunxin, a professor at Beijing's Minzu University of China, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
"Fierce wind, sand and extremely low temperatures are normal in the area for about nine months a year. Moving out of the area to Lhasa will undoubtedly improve their quality of life," Xiong said, who had lived in the northern grassland area for about two and half years in the 1970s.
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Of course, non-state institutions are also required to take part in poverty alleviation efforts:
***
Poverty charity project aids 120,000 children
Xinhua, June 17, 2018
A China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation project has raised nearly 21 million yuan (3.3 million U.S. dollars) in donations and aided 120,000 children since 2014, according to the foundation.
The project was launched in 2014 with the aim of helping children in impoverished areas to fully develop. The organizers mobilized 16,000 people to trek 50 kilometers, and more than 223,000 people made donations.
The donations have been used to provide stationery, clothes and fine-art equipment for more than 32,000 children, and building 146 kitchens in schools, providing better meals for 60,000 students.
The project also employed "companion mothers" to care for more than 30,000 rural children whose parents left home to seek work in cities.
http://www.china.org.cn/world/Off_the_Wire/2018-06/19/content_52678653.htm
***
Poverty charity project aids 120,000 children
Xinhua, June 17, 2018
A China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation project has raised nearly 21 million yuan (3.3 million U.S. dollars) in donations and aided 120,000 children since 2014, according to the foundation.
The project was launched in 2014 with the aim of helping children in impoverished areas to fully develop. The organizers mobilized 16,000 people to trek 50 kilometers, and more than 223,000 people made donations.
The donations have been used to provide stationery, clothes and fine-art equipment for more than 32,000 children, and building 146 kitchens in schools, providing better meals for 60,000 students.
The project also employed "companion mothers" to care for more than 30,000 rural children whose parents left home to seek work in cities.
http://www.china.org.cn/world/Off_the_Wire/2018-06/19/content_52678653.htm
JSCh
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China's nutrition program benefits 37m rural students
Xinhua | Updated: 2018-06-27 20:53
Twin girls Liu Yuting (R) and Liu Yuyao take free lunch at the No. 4 Primary School in Jianhe county of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture, Southwest China's Guizhou province, Sept 6, 2017. Free lunch project has improved diets of rural students in Guizhou since 2012. The nutritious lunches helped address malnutrition among students in remote and poor areas. [Photo/Xinhua]
GUIYANG - About 37 million rural students have benefited from the Chinese government's nutrition improvement program since 2011, according to the Ministry of Education on Wednesday.
The program was launched to improve nutrition for rural students, with the government allocating three yuan ($0.45) a day to students to supplement their diets with nutritious meals. This was increased to four yuan in November 2014.
Chinese government has allocated 124.8 billion yuan (about $19 billion) in the nutrition improvement program which covers 1,631 counties in 29 out of the 31 provincial-level regions on Chinese mainland, according to the ministry.
The students' physical fitness has improved. Data from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention showed that prevalence of anemia among students dropped from 17 percent in 2012 to 7.6 percent in 2016.
According to the ministry, it will work with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance and National Health Commission to improve food preparation and supervision, ensuring food is safe as well as nutritious.
Xinhua | Updated: 2018-06-27 20:53
GUIYANG - About 37 million rural students have benefited from the Chinese government's nutrition improvement program since 2011, according to the Ministry of Education on Wednesday.
The program was launched to improve nutrition for rural students, with the government allocating three yuan ($0.45) a day to students to supplement their diets with nutritious meals. This was increased to four yuan in November 2014.
Chinese government has allocated 124.8 billion yuan (about $19 billion) in the nutrition improvement program which covers 1,631 counties in 29 out of the 31 provincial-level regions on Chinese mainland, according to the ministry.
The students' physical fitness has improved. Data from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention showed that prevalence of anemia among students dropped from 17 percent in 2012 to 7.6 percent in 2016.
According to the ministry, it will work with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance and National Health Commission to improve food preparation and supervision, ensuring food is safe as well as nutritious.
JSCh
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Cooperatives easing poverty in rural areas
By Satarupa Bhattacharjya in Fuzhou | China Daily Europe | Updated: 2018-07-01 09:31
Operations backed by government or started by entrepreneurs aim to improve the sales of farm produce
The small village of Xiadang in Ningde prefecture of Fujian province has drawn 128 of 300 resident families so far into a tea cooperative that was set up in 2016. The initiative provides fertilizers to the growers and assists in the sale of tea. Photos by Satarupa Bhattacharjya
Rural cooperatives are playing an increasing role in China's war on poverty.
The latest central government data suggest that more than 30 million Chinese live below the national poverty line, which is set at per capita annual income of 2,300 yuan ($345; 300 euros; ￡265), with the worst-hit areas being in the Tibet autonomous region, the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and the provinces of Sichuan, Gansu, Yunnan and Qinghai.
China is seeking to end extreme poverty by 2020.
Fujian, a province of 38.7 million people on the country's east coast, saw significant poverty reduction in its inland areas in the past year that many local officials and rural residents largely attribute to farm cooperatives. The province's north is relatively poorer than its south but claims it has few people left in absolute poverty today.
China Daily took part in a recent media group tour of villages and towns governed by the prefecture-level cities of Ningde and Nanping, each with a population of around 3 million.
Hundreds of rural cooperatives for small-scale enterprises related to grain, fruit, tea, vegetables, flowers, edible fungi, animal husbandry and seafood have been registered in recent times in Ningde, according to local officials. The purpose of such "household communes" - strictly organized collectives - is to help farm produce sell better.
The operations are mostly government-backed, but some are initiated by entrepreneurs themselves.
In this part of Fujian, as is the case with some other places in rural China, the lack of access to markets has traditionally contributed to poverty along with remote locations, disabilities and illnesses among people, natural calamities and uneven regional development over the decades.
"We want to develop industry and tourism in the countryside and boost agricultural e-commerce," says Lin Wenfang, deputy Party chief of Ningde.
In Ningde's small yet stunning village of Xiadang, through which a green river flows under an age-old wooden bridge, a cooperative has drawn 128 of the 300 or so resident families since it was formed in 2016. Other than providing fertilizers to the growers, the cooperative attempts to sell unprocessed tea of three main varieties: white, red and green.
Wang Guangchao, an elderly member of the cooperative, says a kilogram of tea fetches up to 20 yuan.
"We use a phone app to monitor tea growth in the gardens," he says, clarifying that younger members of the cooperative mostly use it.
The village, which is tucked away in a mist-covered, hilly corner of Ningde and has many species of butterflies and other insects, aspires to earn from tourism as well.
But first, more hotels will have to be built nearby, village official Xiang Zhonghong says.
While many of Xiadang's young people are migrant workers elsewhere, more local jobs could mean an opportunity for them to return.
In the larger county of Shouning, where the village is located, a makerspace has been established to facilitate the marketing of tea and other agricultural items such as mushrooms, dried bamboo shoots, red beans and sweet potato vermicelli for cooperatives across a dozen villages and towns.
A few years ago in another county named Pingnan, a private cooperative was set up by seven people in the village of Lingxia. Now, 12 poor resident families are part of the initiative, which includes breeding snails and carp in lotus ponds that also serve as a base for lotus seeds - eaten as a snack in China.
Lu Dayong, president of the Pingnan Lingxia Plantation Cooperative, says the blooming lotuses bring tourists to the village but the outfit requires more technological support.
Analysts have previously commented in field journals that cooperatives will need further attention if China is to achieve its "green society" objective, not just for poverty alleviation.
A part of Nanping's rural earnings came from cooperatives in 2017. The collective income of its 1,632 villages, according to officials, was around 290 million yuan.
"Last year, 13,000 poor families joined cooperatives related to agriculture and agricultural tourism," says Wang Bin, the city's deputy mayor.
More than 6,000 such collective farms were launched.
China's history of rural cooperatives dates back to the 1930s, when both nationalists and communists encouraged the model. After a lull, it has witnessed a revival in the past decade, partly owing to the limitations of conventional farming in the face of industrialization.
Chen Changzhen, a 47-year-old resident of Cikou village in Nanping, says raising livestock was not productive, so he founded a bamboo cooperative. Around 1,300 people live in his village, where bamboo groves are in abundance. The bamboo shoots from his cooperative are sold in the more affluent Zhejiang province and in Shanghai.
Nanping has shut down some polluting husbandry businesses lately to protect its large forested area.
"We are working to enhance quality testing for agricultural products," says Wang, the deputy mayor, adding that branding was also being emphasized.
The local government is looking to boost a cottage liquor industry in the countryside through cooperatives.
Chen Changxing, 62, a resident of Nanping's Zhangdun village, makes liquor at home from grapes grown in the village under a poverty alleviation program.
"A cooperative helps me sell the bottles in Shenzhen (a city in southern China)," he says.
China was expected to provide more than 100 billion yuan for poverty relief this year, according to earlier media reports.
Xing Wen contributed to this story.
satarupa@chinadaily.com.cn
By Satarupa Bhattacharjya in Fuzhou | China Daily Europe | Updated: 2018-07-01 09:31
Operations backed by government or started by entrepreneurs aim to improve the sales of farm produce
Rural cooperatives are playing an increasing role in China's war on poverty.
The latest central government data suggest that more than 30 million Chinese live below the national poverty line, which is set at per capita annual income of 2,300 yuan ($345; 300 euros; ￡265), with the worst-hit areas being in the Tibet autonomous region, the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and the provinces of Sichuan, Gansu, Yunnan and Qinghai.
China is seeking to end extreme poverty by 2020.
Fujian, a province of 38.7 million people on the country's east coast, saw significant poverty reduction in its inland areas in the past year that many local officials and rural residents largely attribute to farm cooperatives. The province's north is relatively poorer than its south but claims it has few people left in absolute poverty today.
China Daily took part in a recent media group tour of villages and towns governed by the prefecture-level cities of Ningde and Nanping, each with a population of around 3 million.
Hundreds of rural cooperatives for small-scale enterprises related to grain, fruit, tea, vegetables, flowers, edible fungi, animal husbandry and seafood have been registered in recent times in Ningde, according to local officials. The purpose of such "household communes" - strictly organized collectives - is to help farm produce sell better.
The operations are mostly government-backed, but some are initiated by entrepreneurs themselves.
In this part of Fujian, as is the case with some other places in rural China, the lack of access to markets has traditionally contributed to poverty along with remote locations, disabilities and illnesses among people, natural calamities and uneven regional development over the decades.
"We want to develop industry and tourism in the countryside and boost agricultural e-commerce," says Lin Wenfang, deputy Party chief of Ningde.
In Ningde's small yet stunning village of Xiadang, through which a green river flows under an age-old wooden bridge, a cooperative has drawn 128 of the 300 or so resident families since it was formed in 2016. Other than providing fertilizers to the growers, the cooperative attempts to sell unprocessed tea of three main varieties: white, red and green.
Wang Guangchao, an elderly member of the cooperative, says a kilogram of tea fetches up to 20 yuan.
"We use a phone app to monitor tea growth in the gardens," he says, clarifying that younger members of the cooperative mostly use it.
The village, which is tucked away in a mist-covered, hilly corner of Ningde and has many species of butterflies and other insects, aspires to earn from tourism as well.
But first, more hotels will have to be built nearby, village official Xiang Zhonghong says.
While many of Xiadang's young people are migrant workers elsewhere, more local jobs could mean an opportunity for them to return.
In the larger county of Shouning, where the village is located, a makerspace has been established to facilitate the marketing of tea and other agricultural items such as mushrooms, dried bamboo shoots, red beans and sweet potato vermicelli for cooperatives across a dozen villages and towns.
A few years ago in another county named Pingnan, a private cooperative was set up by seven people in the village of Lingxia. Now, 12 poor resident families are part of the initiative, which includes breeding snails and carp in lotus ponds that also serve as a base for lotus seeds - eaten as a snack in China.
Lu Dayong, president of the Pingnan Lingxia Plantation Cooperative, says the blooming lotuses bring tourists to the village but the outfit requires more technological support.
Analysts have previously commented in field journals that cooperatives will need further attention if China is to achieve its "green society" objective, not just for poverty alleviation.
A part of Nanping's rural earnings came from cooperatives in 2017. The collective income of its 1,632 villages, according to officials, was around 290 million yuan.
"Last year, 13,000 poor families joined cooperatives related to agriculture and agricultural tourism," says Wang Bin, the city's deputy mayor.
More than 6,000 such collective farms were launched.
China's history of rural cooperatives dates back to the 1930s, when both nationalists and communists encouraged the model. After a lull, it has witnessed a revival in the past decade, partly owing to the limitations of conventional farming in the face of industrialization.
Chen Changzhen, a 47-year-old resident of Cikou village in Nanping, says raising livestock was not productive, so he founded a bamboo cooperative. Around 1,300 people live in his village, where bamboo groves are in abundance. The bamboo shoots from his cooperative are sold in the more affluent Zhejiang province and in Shanghai.
Nanping has shut down some polluting husbandry businesses lately to protect its large forested area.
"We are working to enhance quality testing for agricultural products," says Wang, the deputy mayor, adding that branding was also being emphasized.
The local government is looking to boost a cottage liquor industry in the countryside through cooperatives.
Chen Changxing, 62, a resident of Nanping's Zhangdun village, makes liquor at home from grapes grown in the village under a poverty alleviation program.
"A cooperative helps me sell the bottles in Shenzhen (a city in southern China)," he says.
China was expected to provide more than 100 billion yuan for poverty relief this year, according to earlier media reports.
Xing Wen contributed to this story.
satarupa@chinadaily.com.cn
JSCh
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Villagers branching out to beat poverty
By Xin Wen ( China Daily )
Updated: 2018-07-02
A forestry program has helped raise living standards on the Loess Plateau. Xin Wen reports from Jixian county, Shanxi.
At one time, farmers on the Loess Plateau in Shanxi province could only plant crops they knew were sturdy enough to resist the effects of frequent droughts and thrive in the area's thin soil.
However, the development of an "ecological forest" program has resulted in a wider range of choices, which means the locals are able to cultivate their own orchards while protecting the fragile ecology at the same time.
Shanxi is one of several areas where the arid loess soil has been turned a lush green.
The area is now home to more than 3,000 cooperatives, loose affiliations that employ about 66,000 impoverished farmers who share resources but are free to decide which crops to grow.
Having lived on the plateau for more than 40 years, Zhong Sheng used to work the dry land endlessly, but his life has changed markedly since he became a forest ranger in the 1990s.
The 60-year-old cultivates and preserves trees and saplings, which form a barrier against the wind and prevent the soil from being blown away, as well as trapping moisture. He has not only witnessed the transformation of an infertile area into an oasis of greenery, but has also seen his income and personal circumstances improve.
Zhong is one of many beneficiaries of an afforestation program in Caijiachuan, Jixian county, in the southwest of the province.
In addition to the 1,000 yuan ($150) a month he earns as a ranger, he makes 30,000 yuan a year from the 0.27 hectares of apple trees he planted in 2015.
Before becoming a ranger almost 30 years ago, Zhong earned about 8,000 yuan a year. The income was barely enough to feed him, his wife, three sons and a daughter, and the family lived in a cottage made from compacted earth. He never imagined that he would move to a brick-and-mortar home at the age of 50.
By the end of last year, 2,257 cooperatives had been formed in Shanxi, generating 470 million yuan and resulting in each farmer's income rising by 8,700 yuan a year.
The number of cooperatives has continued to rise this year.
Afforestation programs are one of the ways the central government plans to lift rural residents out of poverty.
In January, it pledged to further bolster the ecological industry by establishing 12,000 cooperatives nationwide by 2020.
They will employ 100,000 people to develop forests and woodlands, and, overall, the project will benefit about 15 million impoverished people.
Rising incomes
The Loess Plateau presents a special challenge because its 640,000 square kilometers constitute the largest area of soil erosion in the world.
Even though the land is scarred by thousands of gullies and ravines caused by frequent heavy flooding of the Yellow River, the water drains through the loose soil and evaporates rapidly as a result of the flat terrain.
The cultivation of forests and woodland is intended to prevent erosion, conserve water and improve living standards.
In the past 10 years, 150 hectares in Caijiachuan have been planted with walnut, apple and pear trees, which has raised the forestry rate to 84 percent from less than 10 percent.
Last year, apples were cultivated on more than 18,000 hectares in Jixian county, generating profits of 796 million yuan and helping about 80,000 people in 30,000 households achieve sustainable income growth. Overall, apple cultivation accounted for 80 percent of the combined income of the county's residents.
In 2005, Liu Xinzhu planted 0.93 hectares of apple trees in Jixian county.
Having specialized in varieties such as Red Fuji and Gala, his income is now 10 times higher than it was 13 years ago.
"I can save money now and prepare for my grandchildren's futures. Before, I could barely feed my family," the 67-year-old farmer said.
The family's income is supplemented by Liu's son who lives away from home as a migrant worker, and Liu plans to develop his home into a tourism center, providing accommodation and food for visitors from the city.
"If more people came to buy our delicious apples, our circumstances would improve even more," he said.
Special cooperatives
In recent years, a new work pattern has emerged via cooperative unions, umbrella organizations formed by large numbers of cooperatives banding together.
All participants plant the same crop, which helps them master specific cultivation techniques, and they all enjoy government subsidies. About 60 percent of members are officially classified as impoverished, according to Liu Zengguang, director of the Shanxi Forestry Bureau.
Moreover, every farmer who participates in the forest planting program is given a subsidy of 800 yuan, and the program's success has improved conditions for crop cultivation, which has resulted in farmers' incomes rising, the local government said.
Last year, 228 specialized cooperatives had been established in the province, benefiting 1,461 households, and each one involved 240 cooperatives according to Ma Xiangrong, deputy director of operations for the Shanxi Agriculture Department.
By the end of last year, 370,000 people in the province were forest rangers.
"The locally grown trees have basically become money trees for the farmers, compared with the area's traditional agricultural industry where crops were destroyed by drought and floods, leaving the farmers with nothing to show for their efforts, according to Liu Zengguang.
The financial success of fruit cultivation has prompted the farmers to grow more trees, raising their incomes while protecting the fragile ecological environment.
Opportunities
Feng Hu, director of forest protection in Caijiachuan, has witnessed the change in the microclimate as a result of the growing forestry coverage. For example, the amount of rainfall has risen by about 10 percent in the past decade.
"Before, one of my biggest concerns was whether the plants would receive enough water, but that has ceased to be a problem since the forest defense came into being," said the 36-year-old Caijiachuan native.
The area is becoming known as a microcosm of the country's long battle against desertification, but there is still a long way to go, not only for China, but globally.
In the past 40 years, the Earth has lost one-third of its arable land to erosion and degradation, according to a 2013 report by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
The report noted that desertification, land degradation and drought accelerated worldwide during the 20th century, especially in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, and predicted that the process will intensify in the next 100 years.
However, that sentiment seems a world away from Caijiachuan, a watershed on a tributary of the Yellow River, where plans are being made to transform the area into a national forest park in light of its growing fame as an area of lush, green beauty.
"There used to be only one color - yellow," Feng said. "In the old days, sand ruled the land. Today, the sand's movement has been halted, and as the forest expands the sand is effectively on the retreat."
Contact the writer at xinwen@chinadaily.com.cn
Cooperative members in Lanxian county, Shanxi province, prepare the ground before planting trees as part of a forestry program.Cao Yang / Xinhua
By Xin Wen ( China Daily )
Updated: 2018-07-02
A forestry program has helped raise living standards on the Loess Plateau. Xin Wen reports from Jixian county, Shanxi.
At one time, farmers on the Loess Plateau in Shanxi province could only plant crops they knew were sturdy enough to resist the effects of frequent droughts and thrive in the area's thin soil.
However, the development of an "ecological forest" program has resulted in a wider range of choices, which means the locals are able to cultivate their own orchards while protecting the fragile ecology at the same time.
Shanxi is one of several areas where the arid loess soil has been turned a lush green.
The area is now home to more than 3,000 cooperatives, loose affiliations that employ about 66,000 impoverished farmers who share resources but are free to decide which crops to grow.
Having lived on the plateau for more than 40 years, Zhong Sheng used to work the dry land endlessly, but his life has changed markedly since he became a forest ranger in the 1990s.
The 60-year-old cultivates and preserves trees and saplings, which form a barrier against the wind and prevent the soil from being blown away, as well as trapping moisture. He has not only witnessed the transformation of an infertile area into an oasis of greenery, but has also seen his income and personal circumstances improve.
Zhong is one of many beneficiaries of an afforestation program in Caijiachuan, Jixian county, in the southwest of the province.
In addition to the 1,000 yuan ($150) a month he earns as a ranger, he makes 30,000 yuan a year from the 0.27 hectares of apple trees he planted in 2015.
Before becoming a ranger almost 30 years ago, Zhong earned about 8,000 yuan a year. The income was barely enough to feed him, his wife, three sons and a daughter, and the family lived in a cottage made from compacted earth. He never imagined that he would move to a brick-and-mortar home at the age of 50.
By the end of last year, 2,257 cooperatives had been formed in Shanxi, generating 470 million yuan and resulting in each farmer's income rising by 8,700 yuan a year.
The number of cooperatives has continued to rise this year.
Afforestation programs are one of the ways the central government plans to lift rural residents out of poverty.
In January, it pledged to further bolster the ecological industry by establishing 12,000 cooperatives nationwide by 2020.
They will employ 100,000 people to develop forests and woodlands, and, overall, the project will benefit about 15 million impoverished people.
Rising incomes
The Loess Plateau presents a special challenge because its 640,000 square kilometers constitute the largest area of soil erosion in the world.
Even though the land is scarred by thousands of gullies and ravines caused by frequent heavy flooding of the Yellow River, the water drains through the loose soil and evaporates rapidly as a result of the flat terrain.
The cultivation of forests and woodland is intended to prevent erosion, conserve water and improve living standards.
In the past 10 years, 150 hectares in Caijiachuan have been planted with walnut, apple and pear trees, which has raised the forestry rate to 84 percent from less than 10 percent.
Last year, apples were cultivated on more than 18,000 hectares in Jixian county, generating profits of 796 million yuan and helping about 80,000 people in 30,000 households achieve sustainable income growth. Overall, apple cultivation accounted for 80 percent of the combined income of the county's residents.
In 2005, Liu Xinzhu planted 0.93 hectares of apple trees in Jixian county.
Having specialized in varieties such as Red Fuji and Gala, his income is now 10 times higher than it was 13 years ago.
"I can save money now and prepare for my grandchildren's futures. Before, I could barely feed my family," the 67-year-old farmer said.
The family's income is supplemented by Liu's son who lives away from home as a migrant worker, and Liu plans to develop his home into a tourism center, providing accommodation and food for visitors from the city.
"If more people came to buy our delicious apples, our circumstances would improve even more," he said.
Special cooperatives
In recent years, a new work pattern has emerged via cooperative unions, umbrella organizations formed by large numbers of cooperatives banding together.
All participants plant the same crop, which helps them master specific cultivation techniques, and they all enjoy government subsidies. About 60 percent of members are officially classified as impoverished, according to Liu Zengguang, director of the Shanxi Forestry Bureau.
Moreover, every farmer who participates in the forest planting program is given a subsidy of 800 yuan, and the program's success has improved conditions for crop cultivation, which has resulted in farmers' incomes rising, the local government said.
Last year, 228 specialized cooperatives had been established in the province, benefiting 1,461 households, and each one involved 240 cooperatives according to Ma Xiangrong, deputy director of operations for the Shanxi Agriculture Department.
By the end of last year, 370,000 people in the province were forest rangers.
"The locally grown trees have basically become money trees for the farmers, compared with the area's traditional agricultural industry where crops were destroyed by drought and floods, leaving the farmers with nothing to show for their efforts, according to Liu Zengguang.
The financial success of fruit cultivation has prompted the farmers to grow more trees, raising their incomes while protecting the fragile ecological environment.
Opportunities
Feng Hu, director of forest protection in Caijiachuan, has witnessed the change in the microclimate as a result of the growing forestry coverage. For example, the amount of rainfall has risen by about 10 percent in the past decade.
"Before, one of my biggest concerns was whether the plants would receive enough water, but that has ceased to be a problem since the forest defense came into being," said the 36-year-old Caijiachuan native.
The area is becoming known as a microcosm of the country's long battle against desertification, but there is still a long way to go, not only for China, but globally.
In the past 40 years, the Earth has lost one-third of its arable land to erosion and degradation, according to a 2013 report by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
The report noted that desertification, land degradation and drought accelerated worldwide during the 20th century, especially in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, and predicted that the process will intensify in the next 100 years.
However, that sentiment seems a world away from Caijiachuan, a watershed on a tributary of the Yellow River, where plans are being made to transform the area into a national forest park in light of its growing fame as an area of lush, green beauty.
"There used to be only one color - yellow," Feng said. "In the old days, sand ruled the land. Today, the sand's movement has been halted, and as the forest expands the sand is effectively on the retreat."
Contact the writer at xinwen@chinadaily.com.cn
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China announces reduction in illness-related poverty
by Chi Dehua Jul 03, 2018 16:11 BEIJING HEALTH MEDICINE
China's National Health Commission said on Monday that a total of 5.81m people impoverished due to illness have been lifted out of poverty since 2016. China News Service
China's National Health Commission (NHC) said on Monday that a total of 5.81m people previously impoverished due to illness have been lifted out of poverty since 2016.
The figure was revealed by Ma Xiaowei, director of the NHC, at a poverty alleviation meeting held in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China News Service reports.
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During the meeting, China also announced the launch of a three-year plan to alleviate illness-triggered poverty and pledged a 10bn-yuan(US$1.5bn) special fund to support the project, which will come from central finance.
Under the plan, the country is expected to include 20 major diseases in its 'special treatment' category this year, including cervical cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer and pneumoconiosis, with a further 10 being added by 2020.
Statistics from the State Council's Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development show that the number of people in poverty due to illness made up nearly 42 percent of the country's impoverished at the end of 2017. Among them, 1.13m suffered from critical diseases and 4.57m from chronic diseases.
The world's most populous country has lifted an average of 13.2m people out of poverty each year between 2013 and 2017, according to the country's own calculations.
China announces reduction in illness-related poverty | GBTIMES
by Chi Dehua Jul 03, 2018 16:11 BEIJING HEALTH MEDICINE
China's National Health Commission (NHC) said on Monday that a total of 5.81m people previously impoverished due to illness have been lifted out of poverty since 2016.
The figure was revealed by Ma Xiaowei, director of the NHC, at a poverty alleviation meeting held in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China News Service reports.
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Mar 06, 2018 08:25 lianghuitwo sessions NPC beijing
During the meeting, China also announced the launch of a three-year plan to alleviate illness-triggered poverty and pledged a 10bn-yuan(US$1.5bn) special fund to support the project, which will come from central finance.
Under the plan, the country is expected to include 20 major diseases in its 'special treatment' category this year, including cervical cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer and pneumoconiosis, with a further 10 being added by 2020.
Statistics from the State Council's Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development show that the number of people in poverty due to illness made up nearly 42 percent of the country's impoverished at the end of 2017. Among them, 1.13m suffered from critical diseases and 4.57m from chronic diseases.
The world's most populous country has lifted an average of 13.2m people out of poverty each year between 2013 and 2017, according to the country's own calculations.
China announces reduction in illness-related poverty | GBTIMES
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Call to boost aid for sick in poor rural regions
By Huang Zhiling | China Daily | Updated: 2018-07-03 14:11
Despite achievements in reducing poverty, China must do more to help families cope with financial hardship caused by health issues, a senior official said.
Liu Yongfu, director of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, made the remark on Monday at a national conference on poverty relief and health in Chengdu, Sichuan province.
In 2017, as many as 41.7 percent of poverty-stricken people nationwide were in financial difficulties due to poor health. More than 70 percent of the poor in Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang provinces were struggling due to various diseases, he said.
Deputies reached a consensus that more medical aid is a must to reach the goal of lifting 30 million people out of poverty over the next three years.
There will be targeted aid for financially distressed people diagnosed with chronic and major diseases, according to Ma Xiaowei, head of the National Health Commission.
This year, 20 major diseases including cervical, breast and lung cancer as well as pneumoconiosis — or occupational lung disease — will be included in medical aid programs. The country aims to include 30 major diseases in medical aid packages by 2020, Ma said.
Family doctors will sign contracts with the rural poor, with trained medics monitoring the population and providing standard services for those with chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and tuberculosis, he said.
To calculate the number of rural poor citizens suffering from chronic illnesses, more than 800,000 grassroots health and poverty alleviation workers have been sent on introductory and exploratory house calls.
Nearly 95 percent of the 8.49 million rural poor with chronic or major diseases had either been treated in hospital, or signed contracts with family doctors by the end of 2017, according to the National Health Commission.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, the CPC Central Committee has attached great importance to poverty alleviation. Xi has visited impoverished areas more than 40 times, Liu said.
The number of rural poor has declined from 98.99 million to 30.46 million over the past five years.
By Huang Zhiling | China Daily | Updated: 2018-07-03 14:11
Despite achievements in reducing poverty, China must do more to help families cope with financial hardship caused by health issues, a senior official said.
Liu Yongfu, director of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, made the remark on Monday at a national conference on poverty relief and health in Chengdu, Sichuan province.
In 2017, as many as 41.7 percent of poverty-stricken people nationwide were in financial difficulties due to poor health. More than 70 percent of the poor in Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang provinces were struggling due to various diseases, he said.
Deputies reached a consensus that more medical aid is a must to reach the goal of lifting 30 million people out of poverty over the next three years.
There will be targeted aid for financially distressed people diagnosed with chronic and major diseases, according to Ma Xiaowei, head of the National Health Commission.
This year, 20 major diseases including cervical, breast and lung cancer as well as pneumoconiosis — or occupational lung disease — will be included in medical aid programs. The country aims to include 30 major diseases in medical aid packages by 2020, Ma said.
Family doctors will sign contracts with the rural poor, with trained medics monitoring the population and providing standard services for those with chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and tuberculosis, he said.
To calculate the number of rural poor citizens suffering from chronic illnesses, more than 800,000 grassroots health and poverty alleviation workers have been sent on introductory and exploratory house calls.
Nearly 95 percent of the 8.49 million rural poor with chronic or major diseases had either been treated in hospital, or signed contracts with family doctors by the end of 2017, according to the National Health Commission.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, the CPC Central Committee has attached great importance to poverty alleviation. Xi has visited impoverished areas more than 40 times, Liu said.
The number of rural poor has declined from 98.99 million to 30.46 million over the past five years.
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Alibaba works with poor counties to fight poverty
By Wang Yu | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2018-07-11 15:14
Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba, delivers a speech in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province on July 10, 2018. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
E-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd announced a semi-annual report on its poverty relief fund in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, on Tuesday.
The company pledged 10 billion yuan ($1.51 billion) in December 2017 to combat poverty in China over the next five years.
According to its own research, Alibaba's total online sales volume of local products in national-level poor counties reached 26 billion yuan in the first six months of this year. Among them, 53 poverty-stricken counties' net incomes exceeded 100 million yuan.
By the first half of 2018, more than 701 kinds of products from 51 poverty-stricken countries had been sold via Alibaba's online platforms, which were set up specifically for rural entrepreneurs.
MYBank, the online lending affiliate of Ant Financial Services Group, had provided loans totaling over 38 billion yuan to more than 1 million users in poverty-stricken counties by the end of June 2018.
Alibaba Poverty Relief Fund recruited 1,000 company employees to help officials tailor anti-poverty plans for each county and explore ways to help poor farmers lift themselves out of poverty using internet technologies.
"We should know that poverty alleviation does not mean donations. We don't want to only help poor people by offering them fish, but enable them to be self-reliant so they know how to fish for themselves", said Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba.
The Alibaba Poverty Relief Fund serves the company's "strategic goal" for poverty alleviation by using its technological prowess and existing ecosystems to help rural entrepreneurs sell local produce to other areas.
Its platforms enable scientific measurement of consumer demand and trends, helping prevent farmers from planting crops that will not sell and unsalable produce from going to waste.
By Wang Yu | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2018-07-11 15:14
E-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd announced a semi-annual report on its poverty relief fund in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, on Tuesday.
The company pledged 10 billion yuan ($1.51 billion) in December 2017 to combat poverty in China over the next five years.
According to its own research, Alibaba's total online sales volume of local products in national-level poor counties reached 26 billion yuan in the first six months of this year. Among them, 53 poverty-stricken counties' net incomes exceeded 100 million yuan.
By the first half of 2018, more than 701 kinds of products from 51 poverty-stricken countries had been sold via Alibaba's online platforms, which were set up specifically for rural entrepreneurs.
MYBank, the online lending affiliate of Ant Financial Services Group, had provided loans totaling over 38 billion yuan to more than 1 million users in poverty-stricken counties by the end of June 2018.
Alibaba Poverty Relief Fund recruited 1,000 company employees to help officials tailor anti-poverty plans for each county and explore ways to help poor farmers lift themselves out of poverty using internet technologies.
"We should know that poverty alleviation does not mean donations. We don't want to only help poor people by offering them fish, but enable them to be self-reliant so they know how to fish for themselves", said Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba.
The Alibaba Poverty Relief Fund serves the company's "strategic goal" for poverty alleviation by using its technological prowess and existing ecosystems to help rural entrepreneurs sell local produce to other areas.
Its platforms enable scientific measurement of consumer demand and trends, helping prevent farmers from planting crops that will not sell and unsalable produce from going to waste.
JSCh
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Alpacas from Australia help China’s poverty alleviation
Source:Global Times Published: 2018/7/15 22:58:40
A curious alpaca stares at photographer at a farm in Australia. Photo: VCG
A unique effort at poverty alleviation is underway in China's Shanxi and Gansu provinces as companies are importing alpacas from Australia to help local farmers dramatically increase their income.
Over 30 poor families in Yangqu county, Shanxi Province have quadrupled their annual income by raising alpacas, a cute member of the camel family that has recently gained popularity in the country, the Xinhua News Agency reported Sunday.
Local farmer Liu Xuerong, who used to earn around 6,000 yuan ($897) per year growing corn and potatoes, said he now has an income of 3,000 yuan a month after he became a breeding leader at a local alpaca breeding base.
A local enterprise established the alpaca breeding base in 2014. The base is now home to 1,000 alpacas which were imported from Australia.
The base not only profits from its breeding and wool processing operation. It has recognized the alpacas' popularity with the Chinese public and has developed tourism projects to boost income.
Since October 2017, Northwest China's Gansu Province has import 861 alpacas from Melbourne to establish the country's largest Australian alpacas breeding center.
"Each alpaca can produce two kilograms of wool every year and one kilogram could be sold for around 5,000 yuan," Ding Puji, an expert from Kangle's Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Bureau, told the Gansu's gansudaily.com.
Ding told the news site that Alpaca wool is famous for its unique quality and luster. "Although the cost of an alpaca is high, they are not difficult to raise. They only consume half of that of ordinary sheep, even though they are twice the size."
Alpaca have been dubbed mythical creatures in China and their charactitures are used as emojis and they were playfully mocked as the grass-mud horse which transliterates in Chinese as a dirty insult.
In the past Alpacas could be purchased in a variety of colors on China's online shopping platform Taobao for between 30,000 and 60,000 yuan.
Source:Global Times Published: 2018/7/15 22:58:40
A curious alpaca stares at photographer at a farm in Australia. Photo: VCG
A unique effort at poverty alleviation is underway in China's Shanxi and Gansu provinces as companies are importing alpacas from Australia to help local farmers dramatically increase their income.
Over 30 poor families in Yangqu county, Shanxi Province have quadrupled their annual income by raising alpacas, a cute member of the camel family that has recently gained popularity in the country, the Xinhua News Agency reported Sunday.
Local farmer Liu Xuerong, who used to earn around 6,000 yuan ($897) per year growing corn and potatoes, said he now has an income of 3,000 yuan a month after he became a breeding leader at a local alpaca breeding base.
A local enterprise established the alpaca breeding base in 2014. The base is now home to 1,000 alpacas which were imported from Australia.
The base not only profits from its breeding and wool processing operation. It has recognized the alpacas' popularity with the Chinese public and has developed tourism projects to boost income.
Since October 2017, Northwest China's Gansu Province has import 861 alpacas from Melbourne to establish the country's largest Australian alpacas breeding center.
"Each alpaca can produce two kilograms of wool every year and one kilogram could be sold for around 5,000 yuan," Ding Puji, an expert from Kangle's Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Bureau, told the Gansu's gansudaily.com.
Ding told the news site that Alpaca wool is famous for its unique quality and luster. "Although the cost of an alpaca is high, they are not difficult to raise. They only consume half of that of ordinary sheep, even though they are twice the size."
Alpaca have been dubbed mythical creatures in China and their charactitures are used as emojis and they were playfully mocked as the grass-mud horse which transliterates in Chinese as a dirty insult.
In the past Alpacas could be purchased in a variety of colors on China's online shopping platform Taobao for between 30,000 and 60,000 yuan.
JSCh
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Young college graduate dedicated to poverty alleviation work
CGTN
2018-07-29 15:09 GMT+8
While most Chinese college graduates would prefer to stay in big cities for their careers, Xu Xinkai, a college graduate of Chinese language and literature chose a different path.
After finishing college in 2017, he became a public servant working in Shuanglong Township in Huayuan County, Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture of central China's Hunan Province where he was tasked with poverty alleviation work.
Xu is mainly responsible for archiving documents and updating poverty alleviation data online in his routine work.
He also visits villagers living in poverty and inquires about their difficulties and needs, making detailed records and plans out ways to help them.
During his stay in Shuanglong Township, he has witnessed much progress made in the local poverty alleviation work.
"People's housing security has been guaranteed through a renovation of dilapidated houses and relocation. Children (don't) drop out of school because of poverty," Xu said in a written interview with Xinhuanet.
Speaking of the measures taken by the local government, Xu said effective poverty alleviation projects have been brought in.
"The village where I am based has cooperated with a medical company to develop herbs and orchard plantations which can increase villagers’ income,” he said.
"In addition, the vegetable plantation base built by the villagers has made initial success,” he added.
Science and technology are given priority in fulfilling the task.
"Young cadres who are adept at computer skills and familiar with Internet technology are assigned here," said Xu.
“This is critical given that young people are creative, quick-minded and full of energy," he noted.
“I am confident winning the war against poverty in Shuanglong Township, and I feel very proud of contributing to the work,” he said.
Source(s): Xinhua News Agency
CGTN
2018-07-29 15:09 GMT+8
While most Chinese college graduates would prefer to stay in big cities for their careers, Xu Xinkai, a college graduate of Chinese language and literature chose a different path.
After finishing college in 2017, he became a public servant working in Shuanglong Township in Huayuan County, Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture of central China's Hunan Province where he was tasked with poverty alleviation work.
Xu is mainly responsible for archiving documents and updating poverty alleviation data online in his routine work.
He also visits villagers living in poverty and inquires about their difficulties and needs, making detailed records and plans out ways to help them.
During his stay in Shuanglong Township, he has witnessed much progress made in the local poverty alleviation work.
"People's housing security has been guaranteed through a renovation of dilapidated houses and relocation. Children (don't) drop out of school because of poverty," Xu said in a written interview with Xinhuanet.
Speaking of the measures taken by the local government, Xu said effective poverty alleviation projects have been brought in.
"The village where I am based has cooperated with a medical company to develop herbs and orchard plantations which can increase villagers’ income,” he said.
"In addition, the vegetable plantation base built by the villagers has made initial success,” he added.
Science and technology are given priority in fulfilling the task.
"Young cadres who are adept at computer skills and familiar with Internet technology are assigned here," said Xu.
“This is critical given that young people are creative, quick-minded and full of energy," he noted.
“I am confident winning the war against poverty in Shuanglong Township, and I feel very proud of contributing to the work,” he said.
Source(s): Xinhua News Agency
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CORRESPONDENCE | 01 AUGUST 2018
Solar power brings money to rural areas
Yang Zhou & Yansui Liu
Of China’s ten poverty-alleviation projects, its development of photovoltaic-based solar power has been one of the most successful. We suggest that other countries look more explicitly at solar energy as a way of generating income in rural areas, in accord with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal to eradicate global poverty by 2030.
China’s overall programme has lifted more than 50 million rural people out of poverty since 2013 (Y. Zhou et al. Land Use Policy 74, 53–65; 2018). Solar-energy schemes launched in 2014 supplied 7.9 gigawatts of power by the end of 2017, directly benefiting some 800,000 poverty-stricken families (see go.nature.com/2jtdxjh; in Chinese). In Lixin county in central China, for example, solar installations provided an additional annual income of more than 3,000 yuan (around US$440) for every family.
Solar-power facilities provide employment opportunities, boost farmers’ incomes and supply households with affordable, reliable and sustainable energy, thus also helping to alleviate energy poverty.
Nature 560, 29 (2018)
doi: 10.1038/d41586-018-05846-y
Solar power brings money to rural areas | Nature.com
Solar power brings money to rural areas
Yang Zhou & Yansui Liu
Of China’s ten poverty-alleviation projects, its development of photovoltaic-based solar power has been one of the most successful. We suggest that other countries look more explicitly at solar energy as a way of generating income in rural areas, in accord with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal to eradicate global poverty by 2030.
China’s overall programme has lifted more than 50 million rural people out of poverty since 2013 (Y. Zhou et al. Land Use Policy 74, 53–65; 2018). Solar-energy schemes launched in 2014 supplied 7.9 gigawatts of power by the end of 2017, directly benefiting some 800,000 poverty-stricken families (see go.nature.com/2jtdxjh; in Chinese). In Lixin county in central China, for example, solar installations provided an additional annual income of more than 3,000 yuan (around US$440) for every family.
Solar-power facilities provide employment opportunities, boost farmers’ incomes and supply households with affordable, reliable and sustainable energy, thus also helping to alleviate energy poverty.
Nature 560, 29 (2018)
doi: 10.1038/d41586-018-05846-y
Solar power brings money to rural areas | Nature.com
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New China TV
Published on Aug 3, 2018
A solar power plant in a small village in central China's Hubei Province has not only been providing clean energy for local people, but also helping poverty alleviation. Find out why.
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Across China: Villages near Three Gorges "harvest" sunshine
Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-11 10:43:42|Editor: Chengcheng
WUHAN, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Village cadre Zhou Ming describes the solar power station near his village as a "savings account."
Zhou is Party chief of Shaping, an impoverished village near the Three Gorges dam in central China's Hubei Province.
In the past, he and other village cadres often found themselves unable to handle village issues due to a lack of funding. The solar power station, a poverty alleviation project from the State Grid corporation, has generated power, and therefore income, for the village's public expenses.
The Three Gorges dam on the Yangtze River is the world's largest hydroelectric project. Industrial projects are limited nearby for ecological protection reasons, making poverty alleviation extremely difficult in the mountainous region.
In Badong County, where Shaping is located, 40 percent of residents live below the national poverty line. More than 100 of the county's 322 villages are in extreme poverty.
"We were unable to repair damaged roads or other infrastructure as we had no money. Sometimes, we had to pay out of our own pockets for the funerals of poor villagers who had no family," said Zhou.
Change began in 2016, when State Grid donated a solar power station to each poor village in the county, at an expenditure of 200 million yuan (29 million U.S. dollars) in total.
The 118 stations began operating in June 2017. As of last month, the stations had generated 26.38 million kWh of power, earning the villages a total of 10.98 million yuan, said Li Zhenggang, general manager of State Grid's Badong branch.
The villages also enjoy a national subsidy for the generated power.
Zhou said the power station had earned Shaping Village 280,000 yuan in income.
Except for station maintenance costs, all income is used for public expenses, such as environmental improvement, poverty alleviation, and scholarships for students from the village, he said.
The village loaned farmer Xiang Jiahong 20,000 yuan to raise cattle.
Xiang, who had previously acquired loans from a bank and his relatives, fell into financial trouble as the farm he had invested in was slow to make money.
"With the village loan, I have saved my 25 cows from starving to death," he said.
Now that his farm is large enough to raise 200 cows, Xiang plans to invite other poor farmers to join his business.
"A household can be lifted out of poverty by raising three cows," he said.
Shan Yanping, Party chief of Badong County, said the solar power stations had brought collective income for the impoverished villages and helped with poverty eradication.
China aims to eradicate absolute poverty by 2020, with some 30 million rural people expected to be lifted out of poverty by then.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-11 10:43:42|Editor: Chengcheng
WUHAN, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Village cadre Zhou Ming describes the solar power station near his village as a "savings account."
Zhou is Party chief of Shaping, an impoverished village near the Three Gorges dam in central China's Hubei Province.
In the past, he and other village cadres often found themselves unable to handle village issues due to a lack of funding. The solar power station, a poverty alleviation project from the State Grid corporation, has generated power, and therefore income, for the village's public expenses.
The Three Gorges dam on the Yangtze River is the world's largest hydroelectric project. Industrial projects are limited nearby for ecological protection reasons, making poverty alleviation extremely difficult in the mountainous region.
In Badong County, where Shaping is located, 40 percent of residents live below the national poverty line. More than 100 of the county's 322 villages are in extreme poverty.
"We were unable to repair damaged roads or other infrastructure as we had no money. Sometimes, we had to pay out of our own pockets for the funerals of poor villagers who had no family," said Zhou.
Change began in 2016, when State Grid donated a solar power station to each poor village in the county, at an expenditure of 200 million yuan (29 million U.S. dollars) in total.
The 118 stations began operating in June 2017. As of last month, the stations had generated 26.38 million kWh of power, earning the villages a total of 10.98 million yuan, said Li Zhenggang, general manager of State Grid's Badong branch.
The villages also enjoy a national subsidy for the generated power.
Zhou said the power station had earned Shaping Village 280,000 yuan in income.
Except for station maintenance costs, all income is used for public expenses, such as environmental improvement, poverty alleviation, and scholarships for students from the village, he said.
The village loaned farmer Xiang Jiahong 20,000 yuan to raise cattle.
Xiang, who had previously acquired loans from a bank and his relatives, fell into financial trouble as the farm he had invested in was slow to make money.
"With the village loan, I have saved my 25 cows from starving to death," he said.
Now that his farm is large enough to raise 200 cows, Xiang plans to invite other poor farmers to join his business.
"A household can be lifted out of poverty by raising three cows," he said.
Shan Yanping, Party chief of Badong County, said the solar power stations had brought collective income for the impoverished villages and helped with poverty eradication.
China aims to eradicate absolute poverty by 2020, with some 30 million rural people expected to be lifted out of poverty by then.
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