Villagers harvest celery in Xiji County in Guyuan City of Xihaigu, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Aug. 9, 2018. (Xinhua/Wang Peng)
GREEN INDUSTRIES
To uproot poverty, the government support is not enough.
"The key to leading people to escape from poverty is to stimulate their initiative," said Wang Shuling, deputy director of the poverty relief office of Guyuan.
With water shortages and poor transport solved, water-saving irrigation systems, enterprises from other provinces, and new industries have been introduced to Xihaigu.
Wang Rong used to grow corn and potatoes in Suanci Village, relying on the weather, and was initially not confident about the adjustment of agricultural produce by the local government.
He began to plant Mexican marigolds last year, but had many doubts. "It was hard for me to grow flowers rather than crops. I did not know flowers could make money."
But the choice of marigolds, which contain lutein, widely used in food and medicine, was carefully selected by the local government. The output of marigolds is one-third higher than ordinary crops.
"We encouraged residents to grow marigolds and provided them subsidies and training, and brought orders from enterprises. They don't need to worry about the management and sale," said Ma Xiong, deputy Party secretary of Jiqiang Township, which administers Suanci Village.
When the flowers were harvested, Wang's worries had gone. "I can earn about 30,000 yuan for each hectare of marigolds."
Marigolds were introduced to Guyuan since 2014, and 22 townships in the city have now planted more than 2,333 hectares of Marigolds.
Ma Xiong said he plans to lead villagers to develop rural tourism, attracting urban residents to the stunning views of the Marigold fields.
Besides marigolds, Guyuan has established 38 pilot zones to cultivate more than 250 species including trees, flowers and grass, which fit the weather and local terrain. Poverty is on the wane.
There were more than 501,000 people living below the poverty line in Guyuan in 2011. That figure dropped to 95,500 in 2017. By 2020 the number should be zero.
Over the past 35 years, Ningxia has resettled many residents as it has improved the region's environment. Xihaigu alone has seen more than 1.3 million residents relocated. Residents who left their farms have been provided with good jobs.
Ma Hanwen was among the migrants, but returns to his old hometown every year with his children.
"I returned to visit the tombs of my ancestors and discovered the ecology and environment that had been damaged by human actions were being restored," said Ma.
