Thousands of families lifted out of poverty, rehoused in Mulam county

"I never dreamed that I would live in such a nice home in the rest of my life," said 71-year-old Liang Pingmei, a villager from Luocheng Mulam autonomous county in Hechi, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, upon her resettlement to a new residence on Oct 1.

The "nice home" Liang and her family moved in is a four-bedroom 116-square-meter apartment in a residential area located at the foot of Phoenix Mountain. She lives with her youngest son Wei Xiaosi, daughter-in-law Liang Hongqiu and their two children. Their former residence was an 80-square-meter building which barely sheltered them from wind and rain in Sanjia village, Dongmen town.

The resettlement was part of the local government's efforts to relocate people from impoverished areas. Wei said that he could not afford for the family to build a new house, but now with the help of government, his family only has to pay 10,000 yuan ($1,519) to own the new apartment. "It feels like a dream to me," he said.

Liang Pingmei (C), 71, and her family pose for a group photo at the door to her new home on Oct 1. [Photo by Gao Dongfeng/www.hcwang.cn]

According to an official in charge of the poverty alleviation program in Luocheng, the county has allocated new flats for 2,189 poverty-stricken households involving 9,854 residents this year.

According to a white paper on China's progress in poverty reduction and human rights issued by China's State Council Information Office in October 2016, the government has worked out specific schemes to actualize the goal of poverty reduction, which include "helping 10 million people whose land does not provide subsistence to escape from poverty by relocating them to other places".

Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region in South China provides a series of allowances to ensure the relocated population to get new homes.

Members of the poverty alleviation working team in Luocheng Mulam autonomous county visit Liang's new home on Oct 1. [Photo by Gao Dongfeng/www.hcwang.cn]