Fuping’s Story on Shaking off Poverty

By WEI BO

FUPING County of Hebei Province， about 300 km away from Beijing and perched on the Taihang Mountains， is a national-level impoverished county. It used to house the government of the Shanxi-ChaharHebei Border Region during the period of the Chinese Peoples War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.“Ninety percent of its area is covered by mountains， five percent by water and five percent by arable land” is an accurate description of the landscape and natural environment of this county. Like many other impoverished areas around the country， Fuping has seen its development curbed by insufficient infrastructure and a low level of industrial development for many years.

To learn about local poverty situation， General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China （CPC） Xi Jinping made an inspection tour of Fuping in December 2012. His visit revived the interest of the public in the former revolutionary base.

In the following five years， the local government of Fuping has implemented targeted measures to alleviate and eliminate poverty， and introduced innovative poverty alleviation models while paying attention to environmental protection. Their efforts bore fruit. The countys registered impoverished population dropped from 108，100 in early 2014 to 26，600 now. The poverty headcount ra- tio decreased from 54.4 percent to 13.8 percent over the same period. “With confidence， people can turn yellow soil into gold，” said Xi. Today， Xis hope for this county is gradually becoming reality with the joint efforts of the government and the people.

A New Look

On December 30， 2012， Xi Jinping visited Luotuowan， a small remote village in Longquanguan Town in Fuping， bringing the hitherto unknown village sudden fame.

“In the past， villagers tended to rely on preferential policies and material assistance from the government. But great changes have taken place since Xis visit. One of the biggest is the villagersmindset. They began to take the initiative to create a better life on their own. By the end of 2017， our village finally bid farewell to poverty，” said Cao Jianping， deputy chief of Longquanguan Town.

To help the poor， efforts must be made to motivate the people. In Luotuowan， residents are busy working with overwhelming energy. Its not rare to see that even people aged above 70 or even 80 in good health still plant flowers or trees. “Hard work will lead to a better life. Since my wife is in poor health， I couldnt leave her behind and seek my fortune in big cities. We lived by cultivating the farmland， which brought us a very limited income of only RMB 3，000 a year. Today， the poverty reduction policy is bringing us new opportunities to get rich， and I want to seize them to improve our lives，” said Sun Zhenze. The 71-year-old man now raises 200 chickens and 40 pigs. Thanks to the subsidies he received from the government， he built a two-story house， which will be used to develop a rural tourist business.“We cant always rely on others help. In the long run， we have to know how to build on our own strengths. Dont be afraid of the age： work as hard as you can. It is also a way of exercising，” said Sun Zhenze.

At the Luotuowan retirement home， senior people who are no longer able to work reside here. Li Guilan， 90 years old， whose children are working outside the village， is content with her life at the nursing home， where she makes friends with other senior residents and does not have to worry about preparing meals and doing laundry. In addition， the medical care she pays for can be fully reimbursed. The charge for living at the retirement home is only RMB 1，500 per year.

Attention has also been paid to those who are vulnerable to falling back into poverty. According to Gu Ruili， Party secretary of Luotuowan Village， to consolidate the results obtained in poverty alleviation， the local government is working on developing the fruit industry， mushroom cultivation， and livestock farming. By relying on its natural resources， the local government is vigorously developing rural tourism， targeting both poverty alleviation and rural redevelopment， and boosting the income of local villagers. “This steep terrain that used to hamper our development may ultimately bring us fortune if we exploit its potential in a correct way，”said Gu Ruili， confident in the future development of the village.

Moving into New Flats

Loufang Village has rows of newly built flats surrounded by lush mountains and clean rivers. The inhabitants lead a peaceful and relaxed life. This vil- lage is in fact an administrative village composed of nine natural villages. It is home to 662 people of 228 households. For a long time， the population was scattered here and there in the mountainous area， which posed difficulties for transport， production， and daily life. Insufficient infrastructure and public services further inhibited its development. Local villagers dreamed of living in a beautiful house and a better life.

Li Xihong， Party secretary of Loufang Village， said that in May 2015， a relocation project was launched to move the poor into new homes. To meet the requirement of offering 25 sq.m. of living space per inhabitant， nine residential buildings have been erected from the ground up. For families whose old houses were worth less than the new designated flats， the government made up the difference， enabling each household to move into a new apartment. Currently， 141 households， which represent 446 villagers， have been relocated. The construction of these buildings was accompanied by the establishment of infrastructure and services： heating， gas， water supply， wastewater treatment， public lighting， as well as schools， kindergartens， a recreation center， a retirement home， and clinics. “We try to ensure that villagers enjoy a stable life in the new environment， so we are working on creating more jobs by developing fruit cultivation and livestock breeding industries，” explained Li Xihong.

“This new apartment can rival those in cities！ I moved into an apartment of 106 sq. m. I settled in this fully furnished apartment without paying any money， and I even got a grant of RMB 40，000 for the substitution of my old house，” said Zhu Guoli， satisfied with his new home.“In the past， my job was to deliver water in the county town. I worked tirelessly throughout the year and seldom saw my family. Now， our village benefits from development opportunities. I came back here and started my own business，” said Zhu， who invested RMB 300，000 or more together with his friends to establish a pig farm. They are now considering applying for a subsidized loan to expand their production as they are full of hope for the future development of their business and the village.

Industrial Development

Rows of greenhouses for growing mushrooms have been established in Gujiatai Village. As cultivating mushrooms has advantages such as fast yields and good profits， Fuping County has built mushroom cultivation as a core industry in the fight against poverty. A comprehensive industrial development plan has been formulated， with Jiaxin Farming Co.， Ltd. taking the lead， two key industrial parks in Nanliyuanpu Village and Longwangmiao Village， as well as two sub-parks in Luotuowan and Gujiatai villages have been established. Following a “six in one” model， which means to mobilize the government， banks， companies， agricultural bases， farmers， and insurance companies， the mushroom growing industry has been developed vigorously. Gujiatai Village saw the establishment of the Xiangtai Mushroom Cooperative， which brings together a total of 48 greenhouses with a combined area of eight hectares and employs nine poor households.

Ma Xiuying， 51， has contracted two greenhouses as one of the first to do so. “The profits for operating these two greenhouses are over RMB 20，000 a year. I dont need to worry about sales as factories would send people here to purchase those mushrooms， though the prices fluctuate under the changing market conditions，” explained Ma.

Besides mushroom growing， the development of a handicrafts industry is also promoted in the village. A suitcase and handbag manufacturing factory has been set up， employing local women. Li Yanhong is one of them. Li used to work in Beijing for 12 years and could not take care of her family. Now， she earns about RMB 2，000 per month and can take care of her parents and child as well. “My daughter is studying at an elementary school in Longquanguan Town， where she gets a free lunch. I only need to prepare her breakfast and dinner. It is better to work in my hometown because I can achieve a balance between family and work，” said Li.

Turning a Wasteland into a Goldmine

In Dadao Village， the once barren mountains have been transformed into terraced fields full of fruit trees bearing apples and pears. The local villagers are busy tending those trees.

Fuping County boasts a vast territory and rich natural resources， with great potential to tap into. In 2013， Fuping was designated as a pilot area for poverty alleviation and rural development in the Yanshan Mountain and Taihang Mountain regions. With policy support from the Ministry of Natural Resources， Fuping accelerated poverty reduction by developing wastelands.

It plans， in three to five years， with the joint efforts of governments at various levels， local households， and enterprises， to develop arable land with a slope less than 25 degrees， which means an increase of arable land of about 13，000 hectares， equaling the current arable land area in Fuping. By developing agriculture in an efficient way， it is estimated that one third of the local population can shake off poverty and embrace a moderately prosperous life. So far， an area of over 8，667 hectares wasteland is under transformation， and the transformation of an area of about 5，867 hectares is still under planning， while the transformation of 1，865 hectares has been completed.

Local villagers own their land as“stocks” in the operation and development of the land， which means they can get dividends. In addition， if they rent the land out to companies they can receive rent， and if they work on their own land for the company they also get paid. Gu Xiuqi is an example. He rent out his 0.32 hectare land to Hebei Qianyuan Agricultural Technology Co.， Ltd. for RMB 4，000 per year. He worked for the company to drive the tractor and cultivate the land， earning an additional daily salary of RMB 100. Because his wife suffered from cerebral infarction and stayed in the hospital for 18 days， he had to suspend his work to take care of her. “The medical care expenses of about RMB 20，000 has been reimbursed. I dont feel much pressure. As long as I keep working， I will make some money，”said Gu.

Although facing huge difficulties in the fight against poverty in the remote mountainous areas， the people of Fuping have clearly seen their lives improved as a result of the work they have done. Despite the support of national policies， they still face the daunting task of lifting the remaining 12 very poor villages out of poverty. The local government will better utilize local strengths and work harder to perfect its targeted measures to fight against poverty， as there is still a long way to go.