Yanhe Tujia autonomous county in Tongren achieves prosperity with the help of Zhangjiagang, a county-level city in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province. [Photo/yanhe.gov.cn]

Yanhe Tujia autonomous county in Tongren is one of the 14 poorest areas in Guizhou province, but thanks to assistance offered by Zhangjiagang, a county-level city in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province, the county has achieved remarkable progress in poverty alleviation, according to a local news report on June 26.

Zhangjiagang launched the pairing-up assistance program in 2017, and helped the county with skill training and education, which have significantly boosted progress for the county and are expected to continue helping the region achieve prosperity.

Yang Weiwei, Party secretary of Laolian, a village in Yanhe Tujia autonomous county, said that in the past, the village had an underdeveloped transport network and lacked land for farming, both of which limited Laolian's development.  

Yang said that the pairing-up assistance project has created a platform for him to communicate, exchange ideas and learn from Zhangjiagang. After visiting a modern agricultural breeding base in Zhangjiagang, Yang changed his management practices.

Relying on Laolian's ecological advantages, the village accelerated the development of high-yield, high-quality, high-added value and eco-friendly agriculture and supported the development of industrialized agricultural operations.

"Grape-growing in our county is still a small industry, but we have set up greenhouses for planting grapes, which will bring great economic benefits to local farmers," said Yang.

Additionally, the village has ramped up efforts to promote its characteristic agriculture, including livestock breeding and vegetable and fruit cultivation, which generate an annual output value of 3 million yuan ($424,800).

Regular training sessions have also been offered by Zhangjiagang, with nearly 100 professionals having been sent to Yanhe to carry out training in education, health care and agriculture.