YINCHUAN－For Wei Zhizhong, this year's Spring Festival carried special meaning. It was the first Lunar New Year he had celebrated since shaking off poverty.

"I stuffed my refrigerator with enough meat and fresh vegetables in advance, and we were able to enjoy delicious food during this traditional festival," said 48-year-old Wei, who was born in the Year of the Ox. "In the past, I used to put in less meat when making dishes or dumplings because I could not afford much."

Wei lives in Hebu, once a poverty-stricken village in Xihaigu, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, one of China's poorest areas. Before raising cattle, Wei was a farmer at the mercy of the elements, his tough situation compounded by responsibility for two small children and his wife's mental issues.

Thanks to the national campaign against poverty, Wei was offered a job in 2017 as a forest ranger with an annual salary of 10,000 yuan ($1,550). In the same year, he received a loan of 50,000 yuan to raise cattle.

"Now I earn a stable income with this job and those cattle, and I have nothing to worry about," he said.

Wei shook off poverty in June, months before the whole Xihaigu area made the historic step of eliminating absolute poverty.

"I was born in the Year of the Ox. According to the Chinese zodiac, cattle must be my lucky animal," Wei said. "I plan to raise more and look forward to a much better life."

Yang Baocai also cast off poverty by raising cattle. The 58-year-old lives in Mingchuan village, about 60 kilometers from Hebu. He raises 40 cattle and has become one of the wealthiest people in the village, after once being one of the poorest.

Like many others in Xihaigu, Yang clearly remembers the hardships that he endured, living in dilapidated houses and fetching his drinking water from nearby creeks.

In the 1980s his barn was burned down accidentally and the family had to celebrate Spring Festival with nothing but potatoes.

"We were too poor to enjoy a happy festival at that time. We didn't have accommodations or delicious food to offer relatives who visited, just potato noodles," Yang said

With roads and other infrastructure improving under China's targeted poverty alleviation scheme, Yang was able to find work outside the village and eventually shook off poverty. With help from the government he started raising cattle and now has a much better life.

Yang restored his house, and bought a new television and safe, in which he keeps the cash for buying and selling cattle. For Yang, the changes were the result of his own hard work, and favorable policies. He received a government subsidy of nearly 20,000 yuan last year to build a storage area for fodder and raise calves. "With such good policies, no one can stay poor as long as they work hard," Yang said.

According to Ma Junren, the deputy head of Hechuan, there are more than 10,000 cattle in the township. Cattle breeding accounts for about 70 percent of the villagers' incomes.

"I have been helping fight poverty on the rural front line for 10 years, and I know how important cattle are for villagers, especially in improving their lives," Ma said.

During the Spring Festival holiday, Yang was kept busy feeding the cattle and cleaning the shed. "I'm busy but happy," he said.

Xinhua