Road construction helps Fengshan eliminate poverty

In recent years, Fengshan county in Hechi has integrated funds from government departments such as transportation, development and reform, and finance,to strengthen the construction of rural roads and form a smooth transportation network for bolstering its poverty alleviation efforts.

Before 2013, Fengshan had only one secondary road leading to Bama Yao autonomous county and one tertiary road leading to Donglan county. Its basic transportation conditions were the lowest in Hechi and in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. At the end of 2015, Fengshan was a deeply impoverished county in the region, with its poverty incidence rate reaching 25.73 percent.

In order to promote the development of rural poverty alleviation industries, the county invested 450 million yuan ($68.41 million) to build 747 village-level roads, spanning 1,656 kilometers, from 2016 to 2018.

In 2018, all nine townships in Fengshan had access to highways of Grade 3 and above levels, all 98 of the county's administrative villages (communities) were connected to Grade 4 level roads, and all natural villages above 20 households in the county had tarmac or cement roads.

The development of its transportation network has bolstered Fengshan's characteristic industries. Since 2016, the county has added 87 planting and breeding bases along rural roads, established 685 professional farming cooperatives, as well as 28 family farms, expanding the income channels for villagers.

At the end of 2019, the incidence of poverty in Fengshan dropped to 1.46 percent, with more than 48,000 people from over 10,000 households lifted out of poverty. In May of this year, with the approval of the People's Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Fengshan was withdrawn from the list of impoverished counties.