Toil and struggle? Just flip the switch

For Qimarhan, a 71-year-old woman living in the city of Hami in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, this winter comes without toil.

She used to live in a mountainous area without paved roads, tap water or electricity, and during the winter, she had to chop logs and keep three stoves burning all day in order to keep warm.

Three years ago, Qimarhan and about 500 households in the mountainous area were relocated to a resettlement site in Hami and her new house is equipped with electric floor heating.

“Now I just need to flip a switch to keep warm,” Qimarhan said.

To fulfil the mission of eradicating absolute poverty by 2020, China has been helping impoverished people move from mountainous regions to resettle in places with better natural environments and living conditions.

Xinjiang set the goal of relocating a total of 169,400 people to new houses built with government subsidies in five years from 2016. The last batch of residents was relocated in early December.

Qimarxan’s village, called by locals as “Happiness Village,” is one of the resettlement sites that features public services such as electricity and heating, as well as supporting facilities.

The red-roofed, yellow-walled houses are built near a public square where residents can do exercises.

There is also a kindergarten and a senior-care facility.

The village is now home to around 1,600 people from different ethnicities.

And the villagers celebrate each other’s traditional festivals together.

The local government has been helping the new residents find jobs.

“We have contacted nearby orchards, industrial parks and restaurants to help recruit new residents,” said Yang Yanjuan, Party chief of the Dongjiao development zone in Hami where the village is located.