Xinjiang gets big boost from pairing strategy

Expertise, resources channeled to assist region's socioeconomic development

The Mendong grocery store in Turpan, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, derives its name from two villages more than 3,000 kilometers apart. Men refers to Xinchengximen village, where the grocery store is located, while dong stands for Shibadong, a once impoverished village in Central China's Hunan province.

The two villages became close partners in September 2020, marking a new bond forged within the framework of China's paired assistance program for Xinjiang.

Since then, Shibadong has shared its poverty alleviation experiences with Xinchengximen, helping it to tap deeper into local resources to advance rural vitalization, such as building a pigeon farming cooperative, a pigeon incubation base and an e-commerce livestreaming base.