Over the next three years Xi Jinping’s anti-poverty crusade - which the Communist party leader has declared one of the key themes of his second five-year term - will see millions of marginalised rural dwellers resettled in new, government-subsidised homes. Some are being moved to distant urban housing estates, others just to slightly less remote or unforgiving rural locations. Provincial officials describe Xishuangbanna, a tropical land of rolling, mist-shrouded hills and jaw-dropping amber sunsets, as one of four key anti-poverty battlefields. Wang claimed those years of rural hardship continued to shape Xi’s political priorities: “From the bottom of his heart he knows the Chinese farmers … He understands what they want ... “It’s good, good, good!” beamed the farmer, who estimated his annual income at about £220, as he guided the Observer up to the second-floor balcony of his recently completed abode, which boasts spectacular views over the surrounding countryside.

Source: The Guardian January 07, 2018 04:52 UTC