Chongqing- Wushan is one of the big cities located in Chongqing, China. People marvel at this city’s large infrastructures in mountainous areas, such as the bridges connecting the separate banks and tall buildings that majestically climb skywards upon the slopes. However, the people here have experienced poverty for a long time in the past, and the government and the people have made great efforts to fight against poverty.

Agriculture development helps poverty alleviation

Wushan is located in the northeast of Chongqing Municipality, Southwest China, covering an area of about 3,000 square kilometers. Since the fight against poverty commenced, altogether 90,000 low-income families from 120 villages have been lifted out of extreme poverty, which can serve as a prelude to more significant achievements.

The poverty alleviation work took the characteristics of Wushan’s tall mountains and briskly flowing streams as the starting point. For example, the mountains have been harnessed to cultivate various crops; the most important is tobacco. Meanwhile, different kinds of plantations were planned based on the elevation to ensure that crops could be grown in the most suitable location and climate, further increasing output and promoting agricultural modernization. Furthermore, citrus fruits were planted along the waterlines, showing how to maximize natural advantages. 

Agriculture development has proven to be the main strategy adopted to alleviate poverty in Wushan, and the principle of adaptation to local conditions is a distinctive feature of China’s poverty reduction efforts.

Infrastructures play an essential role

The Chinese approach to poverty eradication has been centered on new infrastructures and public roads as the most important means for economic advancement. Three thousand five hundred kilometers of new roads were built in Wushan, including tunnels drilled through mountains, giving people access to some beautiful landscapes previously isolated from the outside world. As special attention has been paid to the development of the tourist industry, more and more hotels are located here. Moreover, there have been more than 3,500 drinking water projects and 22,300 kilometers of pipeline extensions to ensure drinking water reaches all surrounding villages.

Wushan is a new and modern city rebuilt at the foot of majestic mountains in recent years. The construction of the Three Gorges Dam formed a reservoir, which flooded the old city, and the water level fluctuated all year round, causing floods. However, this problem has been solved now, and most of the residents have been successfully relocated in an organized manner.

Nowadays, Wushan is striving to become a tourist attraction. Apart from the charming mountains and lakes, the city also has the reputation of China’s capital of red leaves, and the beautiful colors of autumn attract many tourists. Making full use of the characteristics of the city’s environment can also be transformed into tourism advantages.

“In the past, we had to take a boat for two days to go to Chongqing and Hubei, but now we can reach the capital Beijing in a few hours because of the construction of the high-speed rail,” a resident of the city who works as a tour guide said, “It used to be that we could only dream of having a modern apartment, but that is no longer the case, thanks to our government, we can live a stable life,” he added.

Following these outstanding achievements, Wushan didn’t rest on its laurels but made preparations for a prosperous future. Each city in China has its own different story and faces different challenges, and the Chinese city's development is inseparable from the great solidarity between the government and the people.

Original Author: Lojain suliman

Editor: Chen Chang