Remarkable poverty reduction accomplishments attained in Longnan city over last years

A fruitful orchard in Wenjia village, Lixian county, Longnan city, Gansu province yields an abundant apple harvest. (Photo by Ran Chuangchang)

At the end of 2011, more than 1.3 million of the residents of Longnan city, Gansu province were impoverished, or 53 percent of its population, and its urban district and eight rural counties were designated national-level impoverished counties. The local government began to implement targeted poverty eradication measures and make greater efforts to ensure that its population could access compulsory education, basic medical care, safe housing, and potable drinking water.

During the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), 61,800 impoverished people relocated from inhospitable parts of Longnan to resettlement sites in more-livable areas, more than 490,000 of its rural residents benefited from renovation projects directed at dilapidated homes, over 1.8 million people living in rural areas gained access to safe drinking water, and all of the school-aged children in the city became enrolled in its schools if they were not already. Longnan’s comprehensive hospitals, township-level health centers that provide medical services to more than 10,000 people, and village-level health clinics all met relevant standards during this chapter as well.