Beijing Winter Games help lift small town out of poverty

SHIJIAZHUANG, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Chongli has made decisive progress in poverty alleviation and the region will be lifted out of poverty this year, local authorities said on Wednesday.

The Chongli district of Zhangjiakou in Hebei province, situated 200 kilometers northwest of Beijing, has become a popular skiing destination since it was selected to stage most of the skiing events of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

Since Beijing was awarded the Games in 2015, Chongli's poverty alleviation efforts have centered on the development of its tourism, ice and snow industries as well as vegetable and photovoltaic.

Its poverty rate has dropped from 16.81 percent at the end of 2015 to 0.44 percent at the end of 2018, said Zhao Zan, governor of Chongli District.

A series of Winter Olympics-themed activities are set to take place this year to promote a stable and long-term mechanism for poverty alleviation.