In recent years, Luocheng Mulao autonomous county in the city of Hechi, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region has been devoted to advancing the county's social and economic development as part of its poverty alleviation efforts.

The county has been optimizing its business environment to attract investment. About 7.2 billion yuan ($1.02 billion) has been invested to establish five grade highways totaling a length of 175 kilometers, including the Rongshui-Hechi Expressway and the Tianhe-Baotan Second Class Highway.

A monitoring and pre-alarm system is being applied to promote the sustainable and steady development of industrial enterprises above designated size, especially those involved in liquor-making and drinking water.

As a result, the annual taxes of Guangxi Tianlongquan Wine Co Ltd has increased by over 30 percent, while Jiuqianwan spring water from Guangxi Zhongyuan Springs Co Ltd has been the designated drinking water for state guests of the China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) for 11 consecutive years.

Luocheng has also been promoting the use of Putonghua to remove language barriers. As China's only autonomous county for the Mulao ethnic group, about 78 percent of the 83,900 poverty-stricken people in the county are part of minority groups. The popularization rate of Putonghua has been increased from 70 percent in 2016 to 90 percent currently.

In addition, the county has invested 400 million yuan to improve the conditions of schools in its rural areas. Basic medical insurance covers 100 percent of the county's impoverished people, in which reimbursement can be applied for more than 90 percent of hospital expenses.

To date, the planting or breeding area for the county's poverty alleviation industries, such as tea-oil trees, sugarcane, fruit, silkworms, and beef cattle, has exceeded 2.6 million mu (173,333 hectares), with an industrial coverage rate of 98.8 percent.

Sales of agricultural products through online shopping malls, including the one by Xiannong E-commerce Co Ltd, has amounted to 120 million yuan, increasing the per capita income of over 7,000 poor households by more than 1,400 yuan.

In addition, ecological poverty alleviation tourism centered on Luocheng Mianhua Tiankeng Tourist Resort is being vigorously developed in the county.

More than 3,300 impoverished people were selected to be forest rangers, responsible for afforestation and treatment of stony desertification. The county's forest coverage rate rose from 67.5 percent in 2015 to its current rate of 69.71 percent, while the total value of the forestry industry increased from 2.05 billion yuan to 2.67 billion yuan.

It is expected that the per capita disposable income of rural residents in the county will reach 8,931 yuan this year, a year-on-year increase of 11 percent.

The Mianhua Tiankeng Tourist Resort in Luocheng Mulao autonomous county in the city of Hechi, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. [Photo/Hechi Daily]