Far-flung face of poverty fight

Watch video: Poverty relief a fruitful pursuit for village in Yunnan

"Dulongjiang is a reflection of the Party's resolve to eradicate poverty, an example of how no efforts will be spared and no stone left unturned to achieve that mission. We Derung are such a small community in such a remote part of the country, but look around you here, look at the support we get," said Mu Wenjun, 29, deputy director of the township's Kongdang village.

Mu completed his tertiary studies in 2017 and decided to return to his village instead of staying on in the city. He received administrative training for a year and half before taking up his post. His work goes beyond administrative duties to include helping and educating fellow Derung villagers to be part of the economic and social initiatives of the anti-poverty drive.

For the past decade, his parents themselves have been harvesting black cardamom covering more than 1.33 hectares of land in the area, reaping up to 1.5 metric tons of the popular Asian herb, whose aromatic seed pods are used as a medicine and spice, to generate more than 10,000 yuan annually in additional income for the family.

"Like most other households, before the poverty alleviation measures, we subsisted on simple crops such as corn," Mu said.

"Other than harvesting cardamom, we also teach villagers about healthcare and hygiene. Those standards have been raised significantly."