This week marks 60 years since the region of Ningxia was formally established as the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. It is one of China's smallest provinces and has one of the country's lowest GDP. But the region boasts a claim to fame not seen across most of the country. Hu Chao explains.

This is video of a new restaurant getting ready to open in Yinchuan, the capital city of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. After shooting it, the owner sent the video to a local approval department. And through an online communication app, the department tells him what improvements are needed in his restaurant, and what papers he needs to prepare an approval application. What used to take weeks now takes minutes, and saves the approval office the trouble of inspecting the restaurant in person.

GUI ZHI, WORKER YINCHUAN ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL BUREAU "We can watch more than 50 of these videos each day. That means work that used to take about 50 days to finish now takes just one."

The Yinchuan Administrative Approval Bureau is one of 51 offices to relocate to the Citizen Hall of Yinchuan, a center of government affairs that opened in 2014. Now more than 1,000 different kinds of affairs can be done here for local residents.

HU CHAO YINCHUAN, NINGXIA "Altogether, this glass box contains 69 red stamps. And they're been sealed here ever since 2015. That's when the local government stopped using them and started using just one red stamp to deal with more than 150 approval applications for 26 different departments. Stampers say this is much faster for local residents and companies to get administrative approvals."

And half of the approval affairs can also be processed online. The reform has increased approval efficiency by 86%.

YINCHUAN RESIDENT "It saves me half a day to deal with something here. They did it very fast."

The administrative reform has also reversed the service attitude of many government departments.

FANG GUOQUAN, DEPUTY DIRECTOR YINCHUAN ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL BUREAU "A complete transformation of mind-set, now it's all about better service. We tell residents what to do in advance and help them get things done fast. Now there's no need to offer bribes or seek backdoor deals. Everything is easier and clear."

The improved government services in Yinchuan have encouraged the establishment of more companies, a 48% increase over last year. Hu Chao, CGTN, Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.