Western China leads fight against poverty.
Poverty, water scarcity and barren lands are what many associate with western China’s mountainous areas.
However in the county of Xiji, one of the poorest regions in China, people are finding ways to develop while being environmentally friendly.
Xu said that the company aimed to build a modern agricultural farm within five years and attract tourists to experience rural life.
In 2010, Jiao Jianpeng, 29, gave up his company in the city that was earning more than 1 million yuan a year and returned to his hometown to set up an ecological tourism company, covering farming, vegetable and fruit picking, accommodation and entertainment.
The village has now accepted more than 100,000 tourists with a total revenue of nearly 10 million yuan a year.
Many villagers saw the development of countryside tourism and chose to stay in the village.
Jiao Bingnan, a villager in Longwangba, turned his house into a homestay and earned more than 20,000 yuan.
Xiji and other eight county-level regions are on China’s list of 14 areas of abject poverty.
To achieve its target, China needs to bring more than 10 million people out of poverty every year.