Now we turn to Santai county in southwest China's Sichuan province,  for a closer look at China's efforts to get rid of poverty. Santai used to host some of the country's poorest villages. Nearly one third of the people there have moved to other places to look for work. But now the local government has launched measures to encourage people to come back and start businesses. CGTN interviewed one young entrepreneur there one year ago, and we have caught up with him again to see what changes have occurred in his life and career.

Last year, we met young entrepreneur Li Kangning in southern China's Sichuan province. Desperate to expand his Santai County chicken farm and increase profits, he faced an uphill challenge. Today, Li was glad to see us and couldn't wait to show off the strides he's made. His chicken numbers have doubled and profits are up threefold. He has also upgraded the farm's hardware facilities.

LI KANGNING ENTREPRENEUR "We bought automatic water and food dispensers so we don't need to feed the chickens manually anymore. That has saved us a lot of time that we can now use to do something else, like marketing."

Under the call of local government to return home and start a business, Li Kangning quit his former job, came back home, and founded his chicken farm last year. Local officials helped him rent the land, build houses and furnish a business license. With profits on the rise, Li has decided to further his career.

LI KANGNING ENTREPRENEUR "We planted a lot of Chinese herbal medicine this spring, and have already signed contracts with some buyers. What's more important here is the 13 hectares of Sichuan pepper trees planted last year. They will be ready for harvest next August."

Planting Sichuan peppers was Li's original plan. But it takes three years for them to reach maturity. So Li decided to start with the chicken farm first while letting the peppers grow.

TANG BO SANTAI, SICHUAN PROVINCE "Due to a miscalculation, Li bought too many water dispensers for the chickens, and only a few are operating. But Li remains confident that all of them will be put to good use next year when chicken numbers go up and his farm expands. That confidence is based not only on promising development strategies but also support from the local government."

In the past year, over 500 people have come back to the area, starting more than 400 companies. In total, over 20,000 people have returned to Santai county, starting more than 4,800 business projects, creating around 69,000 job opportunities. The Santai County government invested 3 million yuan, roughly 440,000 US dollars, as financial support for startups over the past year.

WANG ZONGMING, DIRECTOR HUMAN RESOURCE & SOCIAL SECURITY BUREAU, SANTAI COUNTY "The next step is to put the unused land and assets to good use for startups. We will also apply to the county government for larger sums of loans to better support entrepreneurship. And there will be rewards for entrepreneurs who hire local workers so as to reduce unemployment."

As for Li Kangning, he says he's happy that the subsidies and loans he applied for were approved. He feels this will help push his career forward even more. Tang Bo, CGTN, Santai County, Sichuan Province.