Changing Your Trajectory: Helping More out of Poverty

People in Ankang, northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, has been making constant efforts over the past 28 years to get rid of poverty with the help of China Construction Bank (CCB).

‘A Beautiful yet Impoverished Place’

As the largest water source conservation area on the Central Route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, Ankang has refrained from industrial development. As a result, all of its 10 counties and districts are severely stricken by poverty, with nine among the nation’s poorest and one in the province’s poorest.

Starting from 1988, the provincial branch of the CCB has been trying to lift the city out of poverty. Fan Weiran, a young man in his early 30s, has joined his bank’s efforts and volunteered to work as a Party leader of Cailiang Community, a mountainous rural area with over 1,304 residents from 400 households, or half of the regional population, crying for poverty relief assistance.

Asked about his wish for the year of 2017, he replied: “I hope the whole nation will get to know about Cailiang, such an impoverished yet so beautiful place!”

Located on the north foot of Daba Mountain, Cailiang Community is quite isolated from the outside world due to the poor communications, which has, however, helped maintain its sound ecological environment and gives it an edge to develop ecological agriculture and rural tourism, Fan told the financialnew.com.cn.

Beautiful and Rich Ankang

Cailiang boasts high-quality specialties, such as honey, tea leaf and shii-take, with each enjoying great market potential. “Many have called to buy the locally-produced honey,” Fan said. However, there are many problems hampering the locals from making use of these advantages to lead a better life.

Traditionally, the community members produce, pack and sell their products all by themselves, each having their own style with no common standards and hence causing poor sales. Meanwhile, the backward regional industrial development makes it hard for the villagers to get loans for starting small and micro businesses and previous poor credit records make CCB workers realize that money alone may not produce satisfying results.

Under such circumstances, two cooperatives were set up in Cailiang Community last year with the support of CCB, and local produce has since been processed all in a standard manner. Through the bank’s online shopping mall buy.ccb.com, the green healthy food previously overstocked in the isolated mountain fly to families all over the country.

At the same time, the CCB encourages local leading enterprises to join its poverty-relief efforts and help the struggling villagers. So far, four companies have had their anti-poverty projects launched in the rural community since July 2016. Apart from involving themselves in these programs and the cooperatives mentioned above, the locals can also improve their life by taking part in other CCB-initiated schemes, such as learning skills from masters in various trades and taking jobs at scenic spots.