China
2020.04.28 14:31 GMT+8

Poverty allevation: Sichuan's largest relocation site begins housing distribution

Updated 2020.04.28 14:31 GMT+8
Yuan Shuang, Fang Zhou

As China aims to eradicate extreme poverty by the end of this year, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture is on the top of the nation's poverty alleviation list.

Located in southwestern China's Sichuan Province, it's one of the "three regions and three prefectures" plagued by extreme poverty, yet it's making all-out efforts to fight a decisive battle against poverty.

On April 26, Zhaojue County of Liangshan Prefecture allocated new houses for poor households from remote and isolated villages. The new relocation site will soon welcome more than 18,000 residents from 4,057 households. It is also the largest relocation site for impoverished residents in Sichuan Province.

Four housing types are available for villagers: 25 square meters for one-person households, 50 square meters for two-person households, 75 for three, and 100 for four and over.

The resettlement site is well-equipped with public service facilities such as power grids and gas, activity centers and garden squares are also under construction.

Chen Songbai, the deputy party secretary of Zhaojue County said they built seven schools, three hospitals, and two water plants outside the resettlement area to ensure the new residents a convenient life, especially to guarantee their access to medical treatment and education.

Mose Laluo, a resident from Atuleer Village, the famous "cliff village" came to draw lots for his new house. There are five people in his family, so he can get a 100-square-meter dwelling.

He left the "cliff village" one day earlier and got himself in line early at 7 a.m., hoping to get the key to his new house as soon as possible.

"I am so happy that I got a very good house today! After moving to the county, life will be very convenient for my family, and my children will go to school easily and hospital services will become convenient too," Mose said.

A total of 84 villagers from the "cliff village" will be relocated here as a whole. In the past, villagers must use a series of handmade ladders to scale the 800-meter-high cliff when they get back from the outside village.

Since June of 2017, tremendous changes have been witnessed in the village. Banking service points, 4G networks were introduced as part of the efforts to develop local tourism industry. A 2,556-step steel staircase was also built, significantly improving travel conditions for locals.

To develop local tourism, young villagers will stay and work in the village to develop further tourist resources such as caves, hot springs, and forests in the Grand Canyon.

Experts say the village will get out of poverty within the first half of this year.

(CCTV's Pang Ding and Miao Qiucheng contributed to this report )

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