Impoverished county gets massive funding after Xi's visit  

河北阜平因习近平到访获特别帮扶 村民盼发钱

2012年12月30日，习近平曾专程到此“访贫”。习近平告诉当地官员，“一定要想方设法尽快让乡亲们过上好日子”。阜平，也因此成为中国扶贫新的地标和样本。一年之内，常住人口只有170人左右的骆驼湾村，投入1600万元搞基础建设。阜平县拿到的专项资金就有12.61亿元，比上一年多了近一倍。 [查看全文]

(ECNS) – A poverty-stricken county in north China's Hebei province has drawn much attention for receiving a large sum of poverty alleviation funding after a visit from President Xi Jinping, the Beijing News reported.

President Xi visited two villages in Fuping county on Dec 30, 2012, and told local officials to "try every means to help the villagers make a better life." Since then, the county, especially the two villages, has received a large amount of aid.

Hebei province, along with some ministries and commissions under the State council, has sent officials to the county to help it and the villagers get out of poverty.

The county received 1.26 billion yuan in 2013, six times as much as the local fiscal revenue, according to official data. Moreover, the county has been approved as a provincial economic development area and plans to carry out 116 projects, each worth over 10 million yuan.

Tang Rongbin, a villager in the county's Luotuowan village, received President Xi at his house. Since then, Tang has received numerous guests.

"They just chatted for a few minutes, took pictures and left," said Tang, who has also received several busloads of students.

Tang has also gotten a number of gifts from visitors. His wife said they had accumulated enough rice and flour to feed the family for seven months.

Tang has received 4,000 yuan in cash and was given a 32-inch color TV from a guest from Jilin province.

The village has also been given donations. Gu Runjin, party leader of Luotuowan, said the village has received money and goods worth 159,000 yuan, and that about 1,300 yuan has been distributed to each family.

In 2013, Luotuowan spent 16.32 million yuan on a dozen projects such as digging wells and building embankments, new roads and schools.

The other village, Gujiatai, has also seen much change since Xi's visit. The village allocated money to repair dilapidated houses, build roads, dig wells and build pigsties, and spent some 3 million yuan on an embankment.

Some of the projects were to build factories to help villagers find ways to make money, yet according to Qie Zhizhong, an official allocated to Gujiatai, some villagers wanted to be given money directly rather than earn it.

Some villagers still have rooted concepts of waiting for poverty relief, an official said.