Fighting poverty with resilience and hope

After spending a month in Gufang, a village in Huichang county, Jiangxi province, I am now well acquainted with fish farming, greenhouse gardening and raising pigs - things I had no idea about before.

I made friends with a number of villagers and formed a unique bond with a kind family who accommodated me for the whole month. Even their three dogs, which tried to bite me the first day I appeared in their owner's yard, later followed me everywhere like a small troop.

Life in rural China has suddenly become so much easier for me to relate to. And the unprecedented poverty alleviation campaign taking place in the village is no longer a vague concept, but real people making real efforts and carrying out a range of measures to lead the country into an increasingly prosperous future.