?Combined photo taken on Dec. 21, 2017 shows the former site (up) and the resettlement site of Hantianling Village of Hexi Township, Wuzhong City, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Hantianling villagers were relocated to a more liveable place in 2013. Hantianling, meaning the mountain of drought in Chinese, is located in the remotest mountainous region of Ningxia. The annual evaporation here is more than 2,000 mm, while the annual precipitation is only around 200 mm. Drought had always been the biggest threat for local people. There was never enough water for drinking and irrigation, let alone the use for further development. A total of 2,372 villagers out of 2,761 were living below the national poverty line. In recent years, local authorities tried hard to eliminate poverty. Channels stretching out several miles were constructed, new houses were built, villagers were relocated, cattle were raised, and the village revived. China has pledged to lift another 10 million people out of poverty in its rural areas in 2018. The ambitious call for action demonstrates the country's earnest efforts to eliminate poverty, after more than 68 million people have been lifted out of poverty over the past five years. Through nearly 40 years of reform and opening-up, against the existing rural poverty standards, China has lifted 700 million people out of poverty, accounting for over 70 percent of the global poverty reduction accomplishments. The successful achievements China has made in poverty alleviation have not only promoted the development of its own human rights endeavor, but also greatly contributed to that of the international community. (Xinhua/Li Ran)
