Combo photo shows 28-year-old Zhang Jian, a poverty alleviation team member, posing for a picture (main image in the layout); and Zhang performing his duties (smaller images in the right-side column), in Liangcun Village of Dongqi Township, Rong'an County, southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Oct. 22, 2019. In March 2018, Zhang volunteered to stay and work as a poverty alleviation team member in Liangcun Village. Before that, he was a civil servant in the city of Liuzhou and his decision was met with opposition from his girlfriend, who later showed approval for his work when she saw the situation in the village.The couple decide to hold their wedding banquet when poverty alleviation work in Rong'an County achieves all-round success. Hemmed in a mountainous area where stony desertification holds sway, Rong'an County in southwest China has been struggling against dire poverty that is aggravated by population aging and loss of labour force. In the past years, many from the post-1990s generation have played active roles at the forefront of local poverty alleviation campaigns. Embracing a range of professions, the younger generation working in Rong'an helps pour renewed vigour to a county eager to throw off the shackles of destitution. Statistics show that the county's poverty rate dropped to 3.03 percent in 2018, down from 23.68 percent two years ago. Some 47,500 residents in the county have been lifted out of poverty during the same period. At the moment, 6,761 residents are still in need of help before they overcome poverty. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)
