Qinghai relocations revolutionizing lives

XINING — When she was young, Zhang Xuelian never thought about leaving the deep mountains where she was born and raised on the fringes of Haidong in Qinghai province.

That all changed one summer evening five years ago, when Zhang was faced with a combination of sickness and poverty. That evening, her second child was delirious with a fever and her husband was out at work. She was forced to take her child in a handcart across rugged terrain for two hours to reach a health center. Her child survived, but Zhang had an agonizing realization. With the family's meager income, they could never afford a house in town, forcing them to live a life of insecurity, far from services like healthcare.

When news of a poverty-alleviation relocation program reached the village, Zhang was thrilled by the prospect of a new life.