China is stepping up its effort to eradicate rural poverty for tens of millions of people by 2020. Many are still living on the equivalent of less than a dollar a day. CGTN's Meng Qingsheng visited the village of Songguanmiao in southwest China's Sichuan Province, where locals are making progress toward improving their living standard.

It's not the harvest season yet for sweet oranges in southwest China, but some people at this Songguanmiao village are benefiting from a pre-harvest program.

They can earn extra income by removing grass off the plantation. Like many others working here, Gao Changxiu's family lived in poverty a year ago. But the flourishing fruit industry allows her to survive.

GAO CHANGXIU SONGGUANMIAO VILLAGER "I can earn 60 yuan each day by working here, which is enough for me to buy basic daily necessities. This job allows me to take care of my family as the plantation is close to my home."

Promoting the fruit industry is part of a local initiative to help reduce poverty.

As it's common elsewhere in China, villagers here rent out their farmlands for a more lucrative business. Apart from collecting rent, they land job opportunities for extra income.

Others contribute in innovative ways.

Li Hang has invested a chunk of his savings to growing crayfish, a popular freshwater delicacy in China.

LI HANG SONGGUANMIAO VILLAGER "After years of working in big cities, I think it's time to return and bring fellow villagers on the right track toward prosperity. Some of them still need to change their way of thinking, but we should just do it and make a difference."

MENG QINGSHENG SANTAI COUNTY, SICHUAN PROVINCE "This village was designated as a poverty-stricken area by the Sichuan provincial government in 2014. Back then, more than 15 percent of the village's 16-hundred residents lived below the poverty line. Over the past years, local departments have rolled out measures to boost family incomes. And by the end of this year, the entire village is expected to rise above poverty, leaving no one behind."

Those successful measures include building a new road over the past year, cutting travel time from the village to the town center. And by relocating those living in poor neighborhood to places with better amenities, locals are embracing a new life.

For Chen Xiaojun, the leader of the village, it's crucial to modernization.

CHEN XIAOJUN SONGGUANMIAO VILLAGE PARTY SECRETARY "We support poverty-stricken families mainly by promoting industrial and technological growth. We also help them set up a land stock cooperative system, which is aimed to land more part-time job opportunities in the neighborhood. Along with assistance programs by the government, we're confident about getting rid of poverty here."

The fruit industry covers an area of nearly 500 hectares.

In a best-case scenario, it could generate an annual income of nearly four million yuan, or nearly 600-thousand dollars for the neighborhood, ending poverty here and rejuvenate the community.

Meng Qingsheng, CGTN, Santai in Sichuan Province.