China Focus: Villagers cheered up by Xi's visit ahead of Spring Festival

TAIYUAN -- People in Fengnanyuan village of Huozhou city in North China's Shanxi province have started cleaning their homes and shopping to prepare for the most significant time of the year -- the Spring Festival.

Ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year on Feb 1, President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visited the village hard hit by unprecedented floods last autumn.

In his new home, villager Shi Hongbing welcomed Xi.

"The General Secretary is concerned about the people in the disaster-stricken areas. He asked about our family circumstances in detail and cared about everything," 63-year-old Shi said.

The house Shi used to live in collapsed due to the heavy rainfall in autumn. Thanks to a government subsidy and other assistance, he now has a new abode.

During his inspection tour of Shanxi from Wednesday to Thursday, Xi also visited Duancun village in Fenxi county, where he urged efforts to consolidate the achievements of poverty eradication, advance rural vitalization, and improve people's lives.

Last year, China announced the elimination of absolute poverty. The country is promoting comprehensive rural vitalization.

Cai Wenming, a farmer in Duancun village, began to raise sheep in 2015 with poverty alleviation loan support. Later, he shook off poverty. Currently, he has 90 sheep. Including revenue from farmlands, his family has an annual income of 50,000 yuan (about $7,844).

"The village plans to build a 100-cattle farm and eight mushroom planting greenhouses, and will make vocational training an important way to increase people's income," said Li Jiali, Party chief of Duancun village.

Yan Zhenyun, dressed in sterile operating overalls, is on the production line of a poultry processing plant in Fenxi county. Yan was able to escape poverty two years ago because of this job.

"My monthly income is about 3,500 yuan. Together with the income of my husband who works in another place, we can earn 70,000 to 80,000 yuan a year," said Yan, who lives in Magutou village.

With the development of industries according to local conditions, a growing number of rural residents like Yan now enjoy stable jobs and incomes, prompting more migrant workers to return to work in their hometowns.

In 2021, the per capita disposable income of rural residents nationwide grew by 9.7 percent year on year to 18,931 yuan, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The growth rate was higher than that of the per capita disposable income of urban residents.