Villager Ma Guocai (R) and his wife Ma Ting feed the cattle at a cultivation cooperative in Hantianling Village of Hexi Township, Wuzhong City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Dec. 21, 2017. The couple worked for the cooperative, with annual income exceeding 100,000 yuan (15,209 U.S. dollars). Hantianling, meaning the mountain of drought in Chinese, is located in the remotest mountainous region of Ningxia. The annual evaporation here is more than 2,000 mm, meanwhile the annual precipitation is only around 200 mm. Drought had always been the biggest threat for local people. There was never enough water for drinking and irrigation, let alone the use for further development. A total of 2,372 villagers out of 2,761 were living below the national poverty line. In recent years, local authorities tried very hard to eliminate poverty. Channels stretching out several miles were constructed, new houses were built, villagers were relocated, cattle were raised, and the village revived. (Xinhua/Wang Peng)
