Residents benefit in quest for a brighter future

The lives of people in one region of Southeast China have been boosted by an unorthodox approach to poverty alleviation that has seen pioneering reform of the collective ownership system for woodland, Hou Liqiang and Hu Meidong report from Wuping county, Fujian province.

Editor's note: In the run-up to the 19th Communist Party of China National Congress, China Daily is reporting on a number of key projects of national importance that showcase the country's great improvements in crucial fields, such as recent reforms aimed at improving living standards and creating a moderately prosperous society by 2020. This is the second report looking at the effects of reform in the country's rural areas.

In 2001, Wuping county, Fujian province, pioneered reform of the collective ownership system for woodland, and reaped great rewards by allocating forestry assets to individual families.