A total of 1.24 million rural residents in Southwest China's Guizhou province cast off poverty last year, lowering the poverty rate to 0.85 percent, the provincial government said Wednesday.

Statistics showed that the province also completed the relocation of 1.88 million people from inhospitable areas as a key battle against poverty in 2019.

Guizhou has basically achieved the goal of eliminating dropouts from poverty-stricken families and completed the construction of village health clinics and the provision of qualified village doctors.

Meanwhile, almost all rural dilapidated houses were renovated, and over 2.88 million rural residents were ensured access to safe drinking water.