In 2017, when Po Luo, a resident of Shawa village in the mountainous Fugong county, Nujiang Lisu autonomous prefecture, Yunnan province, found out that his refrigerator had problems, no technician was able to visit his home. Nobody wanted to hike for at least four hours on a round trip.

Feeling helpless, he carried the fridge, about 50 kilograms, on his back, going downhill. He rested on the way for some time, spending four hours to get it to a repair shop. It took him another four hours to carry it back home, and then he had blisters all over his back.

The story is recounted in Rooting, a documentary that shows the experience of people in Shawa who welcomed a better life after coming out of absolute poverty. Produced by the publicity department of the Communist Party of China Yunnan Provincial Committee, China Agricultural Film and Television Center and Yunnan Media Group, the film was released nationwide on Thursday.

Ning Qiwen, director of China Agricultural Film and Television Center, says: "Against the backdrop of China's poverty alleviation efforts, the film shows the touching story of how a small village of the Nu ethnic group got rid of poverty and changed its destiny.

"It also reflects the journey of more than 98 million poor people living in rural areas of China overcoming poverty and records changing times."