More than 175,000 people have been lifted out of poverty thanks
to a 3 billion yuan (US$364 million) irrigation project which is
under construction in the southern areas of the Muslim-dominated Ningxia
Hui Autonomous Region in northwest China.
The Yanghuang Poverty Alleviation Project, which started in
1998, focuses on turning drought-stricken areas into cultivated
farm land by pumping water from the Yellow River.
An additional 500,000 local residents are expected to benefit
from this project once it is completed in August next year,
according to Xue Saiguang, the project's deputy
engineer-general.
The plight of the southern areas of Ningxia, also known as
Xihaigu, is nationally known. The mountainous areas are deemed by
experts as "not suitable for human subsistence" because of the lack
of water and harsh natural environment, said Xue.
A total of 2.4 million people live in this area and half of them
are Muslims, according to the region's government.
Thanks to the project, the two irrigation areas?--
Hongsibao and Guhai?-- have become new resettlement bases for
residents moving out of mountainous areas.
Ma Jun, a 35-year-old Muslim now living in the Guangcai Village
in the newly established Hongsibao Town, said his four-member
family's income was about 5,000 yuan (US$600) last year.
As the father of two babies, Ma said the income mainly comes
from planting corn, raising sheep and doing some part-time jobs in
the town. Their income has doubled since the family was resettled
in the new village in 2000.
The annual per capita income of resettled residents is 934 yuan
(US$113), according to Hua Zhimin, director of the Construction and
Environmental Protection Bureau of Hongsibao Development Zone.
According to local standards, this sum of money allows local
residents to obtain an adequate amount of food and clothing.
Hua said the overall planning of the irrigation areas has been
mapped out, including constructing power-supply and
telecommunication facilities.
The Yanghuang project has received valuable support from the
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC),
the nation's top political advisory body.
CPPCC Vice Chairwoman Qian Zhengying, the former minister of
water resources, was moved by the poor situation of Xihaigu during
a visit there.
Qian invited agricultural, forestry and water resources experts
to investigate the situation there and offer proposals to the
central government on building this huge irrigation project.
(China Daily September 13, 2003)