The last seven poverty-stricken counties in East China’s Jiangxi Province, an old revolutionary base, have been removed from the country’s list of impoverished counties, the provincial poverty relief office announced yesterday.
This marks that all 25 impoverished county-level regions in Jiangxi have shaken off poverty, amid the country’s efforts to eradicate absolute poverty by the end of 2020.
As China’s economic growth engine shifts from manufacturing to the service sector, industries such as tourism and entertainment welcomed a golden age of development. Jiangxi, capitalizing on its fame as the revolutionary heartland of the Communist Party of China (CPC), embraced a fast-developing opportunity as a popular red tour destination.
Yudu County, where around 86,000 Red Army officers and soldiers left for the Long March in October 1934, is under the jurisdiction of the city of Ganzhou in Jiangxi, a place where the CPC conducted its early revolutionary activities.
In 2019, a travel agency was founded in Tantou Village, Yudu, and 71-year-old Red Army martyr descendant, surnamed Sun, became a shareholder and tour guide. He also opened a homestay with the help of the local government.
“There’s barely an empty bed in my house during peak season. I made 180,000 yuan (US$25,420) last year,” said Sun.
Previously the village receives about 350,000 visitors every year.