China's fight against poverty has been a long, uphill battle. Nearly 99 million rural residents have been lifted out of extreme poverty since 2013. How did China accomplish this feat? CGTN anchor Gasthoori Manickam had to find out. Here's her account:

My team and I left Beijing in May to Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, one of China’s most impoverished regions, in southwest China’s Sichuan Province.

I went to one community called Atulie'er, also known as the cliff village. People here chose to live up the mountain centuries ago to avoid wars at the time. But the big mountain became a barrier to the outside world.

The only way up and down the mountain was handmade, rattan ladders. It wasn't safe, but none of them had a choice.

Chinese President Xi Jinping was concerned about their safety when he saw the villagers, including children, climb up and down the mountain in the news.

In 2017, the government decided to replace the rattan ladders with steel stairs. The project costs one million yuan ($150,000).

I spoke to a young man – Mose Labo – who used to live in the cliff village. He said the steel stairs were like a highway to the outside world for the villagers.

The government also gave villagers the option of relocating. Labo, for instance, paid a 10,000 yuan deposit, or almost $1,500, for a new apartment – that is his forever.

His kids, like many others in the new community, walk to school today. All it takes is five minutes. Seniors, too, can easily get access to medical care.