Better infrastructure aids ethnic groups

Editor's note: To mark the convening of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China Daily has selected 10 sets of photo stories that illustrate various aspects of the country's development during the past decade. The photos, posters and videos showcase the achievements and experiences of the Party's cause, and the country under Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. This is the fourth in the series.

Yunnan province is home to many ethnic groups, including the Derung, the Jino, the De'ang, the Achang, the Blang, the Pumi, the Jingpo, the Va, the Lahu and others with small populations.

Speaking in Yunnan in January 2015, President Xi Jinping said, "We will accelerate the economic and social development of the poor areas and ethnic group areas and intensify our efforts to achieve the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020."

Li Xuehua, a village doctor, examines a senior who has high blood pressure in Gongshan county, Yunnan province, on Aug 26, 2020. (Ji Chunhong/for China Daily)

In January 2020, when Xi visited Yunnan again, he said that China's ethnic groups must be included in the national plan to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects. He added that the development of the ethnic groups and their home areas would have to be accelerated so the people would derive more and more equitable benefits from reform and development programs.

In recent years, water, electricity, roads, communications, the internet and other types of infrastructure have been significantly improved in ethnic group areas with small populations in Yunnan. More than 27,000 poor households have been relocated, students from poor families can learn and study well, and all the people can afford to see doctors.

Zhang Xiufen, a member of the Hani ethnic group, is photographed in Qiangang village, Mojiang county, Yunnan. (Ji Chunhong/for China Daily)

A senior from the Derung ethnic group draws water from a tap in her yard in Dizhengdang village, Gongshan. (Ji Chunhong/for China Daily)

Villagers prepare tea for tourists at a farmhouse in Chudonggua village, Mangshi city, Yunnan, on Aug 16, 2020. (Ji Chunhong/for China Daily)

People pick tea in an ancient tea garden in the Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture, Yunnan, on Sept 9, 2020. Tea cultivation has become the main source of income for local villagers. (Ji Chunhong/for China Daily)

Members of ethnic groups take part in a workshop at a poverty alleviation relocation center in Gongshan. (Ji Chunhong/for China Daily)

New residential buildings cover a hillside in Buladi village, Lumadeng township, Fugong, on Aug 23, 2020. (Ji Chunhong/for China Daily)