DESPITE years of prosperity in eastern China, pockets of poverty remain in the developed region.

    While East China is home to affluent metropolises like Beijing and Shanghai, carving out and lifting up the impoverished areas in the region presents a special challenge for the country’s resolution to eliminate poverty by 2020.

    Zhang Changyong is living in Yingshang County in the Dabie Mountains on the border of Hubei, Henan and Anhui provinces, one of the poorest regions in the East. Even though his mud-walled house is equipped with electricity and lights, his house remains dark throughout the day. He simply cannot afford power.

    A two-hour drive from Hefei, capital of Anhui Province, Yingshang seems “prehistoric” to urban dwellers in the east.

    According to the civil affairs bureau of Yingshang County, there are more than 10,000 impoverished households like Zhang’s in the county.

    To fight poverty in extremely impoverished regions in the east, provincial governments have adopted measures such as promoting farm products through the Internet and tourism.

    However, more must be done. With many young people seeking jobs in cities, it should be a priority to foster large agricultural households, family farms and cooperatives to retain and attract young people. A fundamental way to alleviate poverty is for people in impoverished areas to be able to create fortunes on their own. One way to achieve that is by enhancing vocational training.

    Poverty relief will be a major issue for a key meeting later this month to set the course for China’s development over the next five years (2016-2020). Hopefully, policymakers will come out with more effective ways to fight poverty.  (Xinhua)