New ladder, mobile and broadband service are making life much easier

as “doing embroidery”.

Song Ming, an information officer for the prefecture’s government who has experience of climbing rattan ladders, said there are many rattan structures in Liangshan, but the one in Atuleer is the most dangerous.

Photos published by a Beijing newspaper in May of pupils climbing up the cliff on the rattan ladders prompted Liangshan officials to replace the ladders with a steel one.

Construction of the new ladder with handrails was completed in November. It cost 1 million yuan ($144,584), with the Liangshan and Zhaojue governments splitting the cost. The new ladder has cut the time taken to descend the cliff by an hour.

In November, China Telecom began to install the wireless and broadband network in the village. This work was completed at the end of December.

Liangshan, one of Sichuan’s least developed areas, boasts China’s largest population of Yi people. Nearly 530,000 villagers live below the poverty line, which is an annual income of 2,300 yuan.

Liangshan Party chief Lin Shucheng said the prefecture lifted 113,500 people out of poverty last year and will lift another 134,700 this year.

Inaccessibility and mountainous areas are to blame for poverty in Liangshan. The prefecture will build roads for people in inaccessible areas and move those in mountainous areas.