Chinese President Xi Jinping has encouraged villagers living deep in the mountains in east China's Fujian Province to continuously forge ahead and revitalize the rural areas. 

He made the remarks on Sunday when replying to a letter from residents of Xiadang Township, Shouning County of Fujian Province.

In the letter to Xi, the villagers said that they had shaken off poverty, and expressed their gratitude.

"I am very happy to know that you have been out of poverty and live a better life now. Congratulations to you all," Xi wrote.

Xi wrote that he hopes villagers there keep working hard and adhere to a road of rural revitalization with the characteristics of eastern Fujian.

From 1988 to 1990, Xi worked as chief of the Communist Party of China (CPC) of Ningde Prefecture in southeastern Fujian Province.

When he was working in Fujian Province, President Xi paid three visits to the impoverished residents in Xiadang, the poorest township in Fujian, and helped alleviate poverty.

Over the past years, local residents have made persistent efforts to live a better life by selling their local specialties, developing tourism, as well as promoting rural e-commerce.

Xi once recalled his tour to Xiadang Township vividly: "The township CPC Committee was built on a renovated cow enclosure, and a big crowd of us had to hold our meetings on a bridge."