Living standards of poverty-stricken residents improved in Songtao, Guizhou

Combination photo shows students returning from school to Bumei Village on a mountain path in Panshi Township (top, file photo taken on Sept. 24, 2010); and relocated children queuing up to take a school bus at the No. 6 Primary School (bottom, photo taken on June 17, 2020) in Songtao Miao Autonomous County, southwest China's Guizhou Province. Since June 2019, multiple steps have been taken by local authorities in Songtao to improve the living standards of residents who had relocated from the county's poorer mountainous areas. These include offering better public services, career counselling, and more vocational training for the purpose of poverty relief. By May 2020, a total of 26,964 rural residents have resettled in five resettlement sites in Songtao. Among the relocated, 4,082 have been re-employed at top local enterprises and poverty-relief businesses, while some others choose to work away from home. Meanwhile, 3,798 relocated children have been enrolled in nearby schools. (Photo by Long Yuanbin/Xinhua)