Season 1

Improving the daily life of rural people has allowed China to tackle poverty like no other countries.

In the first of our 12-part series, we visit a remote "cliff village" deep in Sichuan province, to see how residents can get easier access to education and a stable income.

Host / Reporter: Janis Chan

Improving the daily life of rural people has allowed China to tackle poverty like no other countries.

We follow villagers from the Cliff Village in a migration plan to their new homes closer to healthcare, education and other facilities.

Host / Reporter: Janis Chan

Yunnan is beautiful with rivers and gorges. But many villagers are poor since they can only travel via hundreds of dangerous ziplines. What can the government do to help them?

Host / Reporter: Janis Chan

Children in the mountainous region of Yunnan province in China often don't go to school until they're teenagers. That's because the roads there are just too dangerous.

An initiative to provide education near them is closing the wealth gap.

Host / Reporter: Janis Chan

Children in China's impoverished rural mountain region could only dream of going to university, until some businesses decided to help. And when these young people graduated, they decided to bring new ideas to help rural farmers prosper.

Host / Reporter: Janis Chan

Ningxia in northwest China is one of the harshest and most remote regions. Millions of impoverished people have been living there for centuries. With the help of richer coastal provinces, a relocation plan was put in place to lift those around the Gobi desert out of poverty.

Host / Reporter: Janis Chan

Bringing water to Ningxia, one of the driest places in China, is no easy task. But it is helping farmers get out of poverty. Also, one ethnic group in Hainan island has stopped damaging the ecology, so they are no longer impoverished.

Host / Reporter: Janis Chan

To lift villagers out of poverty in China, the government cannot do it alone. Large corporations and enterprises must play a role as well. One conglomerate has helped transform an old, rural town in Guizhou, to become a tourism hotspot.

Host / Reporter: Janis Chan

In Yunnan, next to the border of Myanmar, lies many impoverished rural villages. Thanks to one local farmer who seized the chance to grow coffee beans, agricultural businesses have now flourished and brought wealth to villagers.

Host / Reporter: Janis Chan

In a deeply impoverished remote district between Sichuan and Tibet, the image of a 19-year-old local boy was captured and published it online. He boy became so famous that local tourism grew and villagers are no longer poor.

Host / Reporter: Janis Chan

Through live-streaming, vlogging and other social media platforms, many grassroot citizens have managed to harness digital technologies to catch up with the country's economic growth.

Host / Reporter: Janis Chan

We find out how one foreigner is playing an important role in helping villagers get out of poverty, why he's doing it. Also, in getting rid of poverty in China, many people have made great sacrifice for others.

Host / Reporter: Janis Chan