Moving away from the mountains to find prosperity in cities

Xiong Shiguo (second left) and his family. [Photo by Xing Yi/China Daily]

One of the largest relocation programs in modern China's history is now underway - 1.3 million people in the country's most poverty-stricken province, Guizhou, will be moved from mountainous areas to nearby townships by 2020.

"In front of my home is a cliff and behind it is a mountain," says Xiong Shiguo, standing in his new 3-bedroom apartment, as describes his old home in Ganzishu village in the mountains, 120 km north of Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province.

After a decade of double-digit regional growth, people living in Guizhou's cities - who now make up 42 percent of the province's total 35 million residents - are economically better off.

But in the mountains, which comprise more than half of the province's territory, living conditions are still harsh.

When he lived in the mountains, Xiong, 47, had to carry water for daily use besides working on his farm. He had to walk three hours to get to the nearest town.

In Guizhou, nearly five million people like Xiong currently live below the poverty line, meaning that one in seven residents lives on an annual income of 2,300 yuan - or $1 a day.

Explaining the problem, Xu Min, an official with the Guizhou relocation office, says: "It's hard for people living in the mountains to overcome poverty, because their income largely depends on agriculture - and that is dependent on the weather."

The relocation scheme is the government's way to alleviate poverty for people living in remote mountains.

"Relocation is the most economic and sustainable solution for them," says Xu.

"Providing electricity, gas and water to the remote area will cost a lot and also damage the environment. We can't provide stable jobs for them there either."

Xiong moved to the apartment in the Bailong relocation community in March.