China's iconic revolutionary base Yan'an bids farewell to poverty

The counties of Yanchuan and Yichuan, with a population of 192,000 and 120,000 respectively and both located along the western bank of the Yellow River, have limited fertile valley fields. Villagers there had been plagued by poverty for decades.

American journalist Edgar Snow wrote in his 1937 book "Red Star over China" that the area was "one of the poorest parts of China" he had seen.

According to the provincial poverty relief office, poverty-stricken residents in the two counties now only account for 1.06 and 0.58 percent respectively of their populations, meeting the country's requirement for an impoverished county to cast off the title.

An investment of 6.25 billion yuan (920 million US dollars) from the central and local governments has been poured into Yan'an over the past four years.