Sichuan Province, the most populous region in western China, has successfully helped 900,000 people in poverty rural areas last year.

The number of people living under the poverty line in Sichuan dropped by 24 million in the past two decades, said Yan Jilu, a local official in charge of the eradicating poverty in the province.

In 1978, Sichuan had 63 poverty-stricken counties and a poverty-stricken population of 26 million in rural areas. By the end of last year, the annual per capita net income of the 63 counties had increased to 1,200 yuan. Average per capita grain consumption surpassed 410 kg, said Yan.

The provincial government plans to move 1.5 million poor people living in areas with harsh climate and adverse circumstances this year to favorable farming areas.

China still has 42 million people living under the poverty line. About 20 million inhabit the remote areas of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces. Ten million live in arid and dry northwest regions. The remaining 10 million live in extreme cold mountain areas that have little access to transportation.

As karst formations cover some 73 percent of Guizhou Province's total land area, it has imported its grain from other provinces. The provincial government allocated 2 billion yuan in poverty relief funds last year. It has also issued 800 million yuan in loans to poor farmers.