Shen Yiqin, governor of Guizhou province, submitted a government work report summarizing the achievements made by Guizhou in the past five years at the first session of the 13th Guizhou Provincial People's Congress held in Guiyang on Jan 26.

The Southwest China province has witnessed outstanding growth both economically and socially.

The improvement of commercial transportation has played a vital role in the region's economic growth. Being an inland city with no nearby rivers, commercial transportation has always been an obstacle for the city, as it can’t rely on shipping. However, due to local government’s efforts to improve infrastructure, the province now has expressways in every county and can easily reach the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta in Southeastern China and Jing-Jin-Ji (Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region) by high-speed railway.

A total of 67 million people were lifted out of poverty over the past five years, the most of any province, as a result of the country's anti-poverty campaign. The province also relocated 17.4 million people out of substandard housing, said Shen in her report.

The proportion of people living below the poverty line dropped from 26.8 percent to less than 8 percent over the five-year period.

Guizhou has also excelled in areas of reform and innovation. From 2012 to 2017, it was successively designated by the State Council as a National Big Data Comprehensive Pilot Zone, Ecological Civilization Pilot Zone and Inland Opening-up Economy Pilot Zone.

The province has strived to make better use of local ecology and mining resources, creating a more environmentally conscious development model, while at the same time promoting big data as a significant economic engine.

Meanwhile, the provincial government has spared no effort in improving education, employment and medical services to create a better life for local residents.