Heilongjiang farmer wins award for assisting impoverished family

The first time Liu Hongxia came to Beijing was to receive a national award for fighting poverty. It was given to her along with another 139 individuals and groups on Wednesday in recognition of China's fifth National Poverty Alleviation Day.

The 34-year-old farmer from Shihugou village of Luobei county, Heilongjiang province, had managed to support her elderly parents-in-law and school-age daughter while her husband worked in nearby cities. But a car accident in 2014 left her husband bedridden and shattered all her expectations for a better life.

"My husband's medical bills created a debt of some 100,000 yuan ($14,400)," she said, adding that the income from raising crops was not sufficient to repay the bills.