ZHENGZHOU -- Henan, a populous province in central China, lifted more than 1 million people out of poverty in 2017, the provincial government said Monday.

The progress was attributed to a string of measures, such as creating job opportunities, developing industries, relocating people from inhospitable areas and offering allowances to the poor, elderly and sick.

At the end of 2017, more than 2.2 million Henan residents still lived below the poverty line.

Henan is one of China's most populous provinces, with a population of around 100 million people.

The province aims to help further 1.1 million people cast off poverty in 2018, and have all its poor counties removed from the country's list of impoverished counties by the end of 2019.

China has set 2020 as the target year to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society, and eradicating poverty.