In the past year, about 80 local enterprises have provided over 700 million yuan ($101 million) to 79 impoverished villages in Guiyang city, the capital of Guizhou province.

“Thanks to Guiyang Motor Vehicle Circulation Industry Association, our village has been revitalized by tourism and the commercial opportunities it brings,” said Liu Xiangyu, a resident of Gusa village, Guiyang city.

Villagers in Gusa now provide rural inn services and sell agricultural products to customers during the Spring Festival.

The new prosperity in Gusa is an example of the transformations caused by the Guiyang government’s targeted poverty alleviation policy, called “Enterprises Boost Villages”, which was launched in 2016 to urge local private enterprises, chambers of commerce and non-official poverty alleviation organizations to assist undeveloped villages in Guiyang.

By promoting employment, establishing industries and receiving donations, Gusa has changed from an impoverished village lacking any profitable industries into a prosperous village with a beautiful eco-environment. Other impoverished villages have undergone similar transformations.

So far, in rural areas, 4,990 households have benefited from 72 poverty alleviation projects led by the Guiyang Association of Industry and Commerce, with 7,211 people getting jobs and 2,885 impoverished residents receiving assistance.

Edited by Yan Weijue and Mark Ray