Residents of Nanshan village in Kazuo Mongolian autonomous county in northeast China's Liaoning province have been able to live better lives thanks to a relocation project.

An old house in Nanshan village. (File photo)

Due to its location in the mountains, Nanshan village in Gongyingzi township lacked water and farmland. Residents lived in shabby houses and had difficulty obtaining drinking water, medical care and education.

109 out of the total 284 households in the village were stricken by poverty and the poor population in the village had reached 253.

Jiang Xiurong, a villager, receives interview from People's Daily Online in her new house. (People's Daily Online/Tong Zongli)

This all began to change in July 2016, when Gongyingzi township launched a relocation project in the village. With a total investment of 6 million yuan, the town constructed 2,100 square meters of housing and relocated 28 households in the village, including 12 registered poverty-stricken households.

About one year later, it also built 1.9 km of roads, laid 3.2 km of water supply pipelines and 4,260 square meters of greenbelt in Nanshan village in a bid to improve the local facilities.

Residents now have better access to safe water, a heating system in winter, education as well as medical care.

Aerial view of the old Nanshan village. (People's Daily Online/Wei Qingcheng)

Aerial view of the new Nanshan village. (People's Daily Online/Wei Qingcheng)

By making the most of its local advantages, Nanshan village has developed photovoltaic power generation, characteristic planting and breeding industries to help the residents become more prosperous.

It has developed a standardized snow peach orchard with an area of about 200,000 square meters, planted tobaccos and gourds, and also bred cattle and sheep, leading local villagers onto the road to wealth.