Photo exhibition on China's poverty alleviation opens in Bulgaria

SOFIA - A photo exhibition entitled "Cases of Poverty Alleviation through Tourism in China" opened here on Wednesday.

The event, organized by the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the World Tourism Alliance and the Chinese Embassy in Bulgaria, features 60 posters with information and photos about 14 selected examples of China's achievements in places such as Cijuelin Village in Tibet Autonomous Region, Kayang Village in Qinghai province, and Gushi County in Henan province.

Poverty alleviation is a shared mission for all mankind, says the foreword of the exhibition.

"As of the end of 2019, China's rural impoverished population had been reduced to 5.51 million from 98.99 million at the end of 2012," it says, "and the percentage of the population living below the national poverty line had dropped to 0.6 percent from 10.2 percent in 2012, accounting for more than 70 percent of the poverty reduction in the world and making an important contribution to the achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals."

China's experience in poverty reduction through tourism provided a positive impact on global poverty relief effort, according to the exhibition's foreword.

A visitor from Canada who only gave his name as Don told Xinhua that "it's interesting to hear about some of the success stories they have had in China and rural areas of China with a specific focus on poverty alleviation."