Ethnic villagers' fortunes rise as they cooperate in kiwi cultivation

Editor's note: In the run-up to the 19th Communist Party of China National Congress, China Daily sent six reporters to villages nationwide to live for a month and take a look at how people are working under China's poverty eradication plan.

When President Xi Jinping paid a visit to Shibadong village in 2013, he passed by the home of Shi Basan and stopped to shake her hand. The only problem was, she didn't recognize him.

"How should I address you?" the villager, 64 at the time, asked China's head of state, drawing surprise from those around her. However, at the time, a fair number of seniors in this mountain village in Hunan province may have struggled to identify the president.