The big water tank that Xu Guofei has used for half a lifetime is set to enjoy a well-earned "retirement."

The tank held rainwater collected from mountain ponds, which for decades Xu and his family had been using for drinking and their daily chores in Zhangshui Township in rural Ningbo City, east China's Zhejiang Province.

"When things were at their worst, half of a glass of water was mud and sand," Xu said, adding that they often suffered from diarrhea after drinking the dirty water.

The situation did not change until late November of this year when a drinking water project was completed, providing each local household with tap water.

As China aims to achieve the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, the country has invested heavily to improve infrastructure in less developed rural areas to provide residents there with access to modern facilities.

Xu's home Chishui Village, meaning red water, is part of a revolutionary base where the Chinese people fought the invading Japanese forces more than 70 years ago.

Near the village are two reservoirs, but villagers had been unable to drink sterilized clean water from the reservoirs due to the high altitude and steep mountains.

As part of a three-year plan to improve the drinking water quality in rural Zhejiang, the water supply station of the village broke ground in May.

Shi Anping, the construction manager of the project, said the water was set to be drawn and pumped from one of the nearby reservoirs and delivered to each household after disinfection.

Yet not everything was smooth sailing.

The mules that were used to transport materials up the mountains from the nearest roadside could only carry half of their normal load on the rugged trail, as they were often bogged down in the mud.

"After several days, even the mules became work-shy, and refused to move despite our best efforts," Shi recalled.

Expensive equipment, such as water pumps and steel pipes with a total length of 8 km, had to be shouldered up by hand. The team had to work overtime because of the slow progress.

Construction lasted from mid-summer to winter before villagers were finally rewarded with a tap water supply.

"I've waited for this moment for decades," said Xu while seeing the running water flowing out of the tap at his home.

Now, the daily purification capacity of the water supply station reaches 300 to 500 tonnes, which can provide water for 3,000 people simultaneously, authorities said.

According to the Zhejiang provincial department of water resources, the 2018-2020 action plan, which required efforts to provide clean drinking water to 95 percent of the population in the province's rural areas, has been completed ahead of schedule. Almost all of the province's 32 million rural residents have drinking water with the same quality as their urban counterparts.

Wang Haitao, a worker with the office of agriculture and rural affairs in Zhangshui Township, said with the improved infrastructure in the village, Chishui has set its sights on developing the local tourism industry based on its green landscape and red revolutionary history.

A glass sightseeing platform has also been built near the village, he said.

"With clean water for all, we are more confident about the development of tourism and the homestay industry," said Wang.