Gansu envisions tourism as route out of poverty

Authorities in Gansu province, home to multiple World Heritage Sites, are planning to tap into its rich tourism and cultural resources to aid its shift from an industrial base to a green development model.

Lin Duo, Party secretary of Gansu and top legislator, said the move could inject momentum into poverty relief endeavors in one of China's least developed regions, amid the national effort to eliminate rural poverty in time for the centennial of the Communist Party of China in 2021.

Lin said his office has been boosting Gansu's tourism sector with poor farmers in mind, and the approach has begun to reap benefits.