Liaocheng, Shandong province has seen greater progress made in poverty alleviation as efforts in various sectors to boost consumption of goods and services from rural areas and raise villager incomes have paid off.

Under the current poverty standards, all poor rural households have been lifted out of poverty in the city, said local officials, adding that the per capita net income of the poor rose from 2,661 yuan ($397.83) at the end of 2015 to the current 6,843 yuan, representing an average annual increase of 26.63 percent.

Daxinzhuang village in Liaocheng has developed rural e-commerce to sell local agricultural products. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Liaocheng has taken targeted measures and invested 1.48 billion yuan worth of special funds into industrial poverty alleviation, in an attempt to raise villager incomes.

According to official data, the city has carried out 1,413 projects related to solar power generation, specialized planting and breeding, developing rural tourism, and rural workshops, which have generated 231 million yuan in income and lifted 818,900 people out of poverty.

A total of 3,443 public welfare jobs were offered, receiving 11.91 million yuan in subsidies.

Workshops have been established in rural areas in Liaocheng in a bid to promote employment and increase farmer incomes. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Liaocheng has also increased financial support for rural families looking to start businesses. By working with 12 financial institutions, including Agricultural Bank of China and Qilu Bank, the city issued 828 million yuan to 967 entities in rural areas to help them get through this challenging period.

"Micro-credit for poverty alleviation" worth 28.38 million yuan was granted to 693 poor households to help them develop specialized planting and breeding techniques and start businesses.

The city has also improved healthcare services in rural areas and reduced medical expenditures for impoverished residents.

Specialized planting and breeding techniques have benefited villagers in Liaocheng, Shandong province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]