Niulan New Village is located deep in the Taihang Mountain, with a total area of 12,000 mu (800 hectares), including 480 mu (32 hectares) of arable land and 3000 mu (200 hectares) of forests. The village has 289 villagers in 124 households. In 2016, per capita net income in the village was 2,300 yuan, 133 villagers in 49 households were registered poor people and poverty incidence was at 46%. Surrounded by mountains and with inconvenient transportation, poor housing conditions and weak industrial basis, Niulan New Village is a provincial-level destitute village. At the end of 2018, Niulan New Village was able to shook off poverty. At the end of 2019, per capita disposable income reached 10,000 yuan, 4 times higher than in 2016, and poverty incidence rate dropped to zero. Because of this, the village has transformed into a completely new appearance. In September, 2020, leaders from the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development made a field visit to the village and affirmed its achievements. On October 4, the “Live-stream on Poverty Reduction” program of CCTV-2 featured the development and the current state of the village.

The Organization Department of the CPC Hebei Provincial Committee dispatched its First Secretary to the village. Niulan New Village grasps the opportunities of Beijing-Hebei poverty reduction cooperation, combines poverty reduction with ambition building and intellectual support, focuses on party development to promote poverty reduction, explores the development of planting and breeding industries and embarks on a path towards development. 

First, the village grasps the opportunities of Beijing-Hebei poverty reduction cooperationto change its environment. Since 2017, the county, town and village levels have taken the opportunity of East-West poverty reduction cooperation and the village appearance improvement program in Hebei to push for the village renovation. The village received monetary support amounting to 10 million yuan that was provided by Fengtai District of Beijing, and Hebei Province also provides over 1 million yuan each year and arranges Gaobeidian City to provide one-on-one support for Laiyuan County. With the above-mentioned support, 65 houses were built, with a total area of 4494.32 square meters, over 100 street lamps were installed, 933 meters of dams and 3000 meters of road were built, and access to safe water program was implemented. Because of this, the previously destitute village was able to move its villagers to their new houses.

Second, the village focuses on party development to promote poverty reduction. The village takes the party organizations and party members as pillar forces in reducing poverty and building a well-off society. It innovates the system for party members to serve the public. It provides party member commission service, organizes party members and officials, passing the warmth of the party and showing humanistic care to the villagers. It innovates the party member commitment system. It propels party members to show their identity and guide women, children and poor villagers to make and fulfill commitments to establish the sense of ownership. It innovates the party member education andmanagement methods. It opens Niulan Night Schools to improve party members’ capability, guide them to take the lead and actively participate in village development.

Party development eventsThird, the village combines poverty reduction with ambition building and intellectual supportto create cohesion. The village sticks to five measures to improve people’s indigenous power. It leads villagers to work hard. The village distributes ambition calendars and “good life” photo frames, carries out the “most beautiful yard” event, and establish logos and banners on diligence in order to create an atmosphere that all happiness comes from hard work. It leads villagers to industrial development. The village applied for 1 million yuan to build a large animal breeding community and mobilized villagers to engage in cow breeding. The total size of the industry has reached 150 cows and helped to realize the goal of poverty reduction. It leads villagers to enter classrooms. In opening the Niulan Night School, the village follows the principle of “the public set questions, talents provide teaching, villagers become students and the village becomes classrooms” in order to enable them to be patriotic, hardworking, active and lively farmers in the new era. It leads villagers to enter public undertakings. The village mobilizes villagers to participate in cleaning and environmental renovation to improve their collective spirit. The village opens charity supermarkets to care for the poor villagers and give back to those who love others. It leads villagers to be involved in cultural events. The village built an integrated cultural center that covers 124.6 square meters, organized dancing teams, gong and drum teams and WeChat groups to resolve the scarcity of spiritual life and boost their confidence in entrepreneurship.

Since the beginning of the poverty reduction battle, the whole village has worked with firm confidence. By improving the living conditions, developing profitable industries and improving indigenous power, it actively guides villagers to independently shake off poverty, improves grassroots governance and show the great changes brought about by poverty reduction.