- All of the 19 districts and counties in Three Gorges Project regions shook off poverty in May thanks to a series of supportive policies and local government efforts.

- The regions had been plagued by poverty long before the project was launched.

- Boasting a number of tourist attractions with beautiful natural landscapes, the regions have taken tourism as one of their pillar industries.

by Xinhua writers Xuan Liqi, Wang Jintao, Zhao Yufei

CHONGQING, July 12 -- This year, people living in regions of the Three Gorges Project, the world's largest hydropower project, witnessed a historic achievement in bidding farewell to poverty.

Covering about 10,000 square km, the regions involved in the project are located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, China's longest waterway. With a population of about 30 million, they had been plagued by poverty long before the project was launched.

All of the 19 local districts and counties shook off poverty in May thanks to a series of supportive policies and local government efforts.

Photo taken on June 22, 2020 shows a photo wall displaying the happy life of people who have settled down after their relocation from the Three Gorges Reservoir area at the Three Gorges Migration Memorial in Wanzhou District, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. (Xinhua/Huang Wei)

BOOMING TOURISM

Song Qinggui, a 47-year-old villager in Qingshi Village, Wushan County, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, is busy running his agritainment business.

Song and his family moved to the village in 2002 because of the project. Living by the Yangtze River, the family previously managed to eke out a living by farming.

"I was worried about our future life when we moved to the village in the mountains," he said. "We could barely feed ourselves by farming on fertile land before. What were we going to do with the poor soil that was full of stones in the mountains?"

However, his worries were soon alleviated. Now Song can earn more than 200,000 yuan (about 28,500 U.S. dollars) each year by running his agritainment business, a marked improvement from the 30,000 yuan he previously earned. Boasting a number of tourist attractions with beautiful natural landscapes, the regions have taken tourism as one of their pillar industries.