Government and Policy

Ningxia moves to ensure a prosperous future

By Wang Qian (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-01-19 07:36

YINCHUAN - More than 350,000 people living in poor areas in Northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region will be relocated during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) period, a senior local official said.

Wang Zhengwei, chairman of the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, told China Daily in an exclusive interview in December that nearly all the people in Ningxia will move to far more livable areas, with a total of 800,000 people relocated by the end of 2015.

Related readings:  2.79 m Shaanxi residents to be relocated from mountains  Relocated villagers starting over  Anhui to relocate 390,000 residents for river control  China unveils plans of industrial relocations

"We are planning water projects and essential public services to attract investment to these areas," Wang said.

Since 2008 the local government has spent nearly 2 billion yuan ($294 million) for the relocation of about 119,000 people with about 1.9 million square meters of housing built, according to the latest statistics released by the autonomous region's government.

Because most of the region is inhospitable terrain, Ningxia began regular relocation of its population in the 1980s.

The region can be divided into three areas: the north, which has fertile land and is suitable for living; the center, which occupies arid land and suffers from strong winds and frequent sandstorms; and the mountainous south, which is one of the country's most impoverished areas.

Wang said the key policy of the relocation program is to move people to places that have rivers or lakes nearby.

He said most of the people were happy with the relocation, adding that they were provided with facilities such as greenhouses for growing plant and farming tools.

To ensure the people stayed in the new areas, the government has built schools, clinics, shops, service centers, culture squares, water pipes and other public service facilities to improve living conditions, he added.

Before 2015, Ningxia will move all the poor people living in the central and southern parts of the region into the wealthy northern part, local officials said.

In the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010) period, more than 150,000 poor people in Ningxia escaped poverty and gained access to fundamental public services such as healthcare and education, according to statistics from the local government.

Wang Zhengwei is chairman of the Ningxia Hui autonomous region.

The rural and urban medical insurance services cover more than 90 percent of the region's total population and nearly 1.6 million people living in rural areas will get access to safe drinking water, the statistics showed.

The length of expressway in the autonomous region has reached 1,200 kilometers and the operating length of the railway is now 1,272 km.

Ningxia's GDP in the past year was expected to reach 158 billion yuan, about 2.6 times greater than in 2005, according to official data.

"Ningxia has achieved rapid development in the past five years and the lives of the people improved dramatically at the same time," Wang said.

Wang said the next five years will be another period of rapid development for Ningxia as it will use its regional advantages to attract people and investment from across the country.