Full-coverage rural highway network connecting townships, administrative villages set up in Guangxi (3)

Villagers build a rural road at Nongxiong Village of Qibainong Township in Dahua Yao Autonomous County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Aug. 15, 2016. Though bordering the wealthy Guangdong Province and boasting a coastline of 1,500 kilometers, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is a mountainous region and has long been plagued by poverty. Transport difficulties remained a major impediment to rural development, mainly in mountain-locked rural areas in Guangxi. Inadequate road access was common, and most of the time people had to walk. Many roads were either paved by dirt or small stones, which made the vehicles very bumpy and can barely get through. Poor transportation infrastructure blocked people and services from the outside and trapped the reclusive mountain dwellers in extreme poverty for generations. Improving rural road infrastructure has been accredited for accelerating Guangxi's poverty relief campaign. A full-coverage rural highway network connecting townships and administrative villages by tarmac or cement roads has been set up in Guangxi. By the end of last year, expressways had surpassed 6,000 km in the region, and 92 percent of its counties had access to expressways. Strengthening the construction of rural transport infrastructure is key to boosting various rural industries since better rural roads will reduce travel time, facilitate trade and allow more movement of people and goods, accelerating the pace of poverty eradication. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)