Far-flung face of poverty fight

Dulongjiang township is tucked in the northwest corner of Yunnan, under its Gongshan Derung and Nu autonomous county in Nujiang Lisu autonomous prefecture.

Dulongjiang villagers number about 4,200, making the Derung one of the smallest of China's 56 ethnic groups.

Until 2009, the annual per capita net income of farmers in the township was recorded at less than 908 yuan and many Derung members were still living in thatched huts, subsisting on surrounding resources.

In 2010, the Yunnan provincial Party committee and the provincial government launched a major assistance program to spur the development of the township and lift its residents from poverty. The measures ranged from agriculture, education and housing, to transportation, tourism and healthcare.

To that effect, six years ago, a 6.7km-long highway tunnel became a lifeline to the township by ending six months of annual winter isolation, when heavy snowfall cut off access to villagers. It now takes a day and half to reach Dulongjiang from the city, often via precariously winding mountain roads.

Continued poverty alleviation and development efforts helped the Derung villagers to finally shed the poverty label. By the end of 2018, all impoverished Derung communities in the township were successfully elevated from poverty. Per capita income reached 7,637 yuan, according to local government figures. Dulongjiang also won a national award for its innovative approach and exemplary achievements in poverty alleviation.

On April 10 last year (2019), the Derung ethnic group received a message from President Xi – he congratulated the community for their achievements in alleviating poverty and encouraged the villagers to continue striving for improved lives.

Poverty alleviation is "just the first step", with "better days still ahead", said Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.