LI XIAOKUN

A village in Southwest China’s Sichuan province that used to be difficult to reach now has access to a mobile and broadband service thanks to poverty relief efforts.

About 50 residents in Atuleer, a village in Zhaojue county, the Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture, have mobile phones, and eight have broadband service in their homes, said village head Er Dijiang.

Atuleer, home to 500 villagers living atop a cliff more than 1,400 meters high, used to rely on an 800-meter zigzag network of rattan ladders with no railings, which was the only link to the outside world.

Villagers used these ladders to reach the nearest market several kilometers away once a week to sell peppers and walnuts, and to buy necessities. It took young villagers three hours to descend the cliff via the ladders, while old ones had to stay at home.

The village even caught the attention of President Xi Jinping. In a recent discussion with National People’s Congress deputies from Sichuan, Xi said he felt worried when he learned from TV that Atuleer villagers were connected to the outside by the rattan structure.

Xi told the delegates on Wednesday that the entire process of poverty reduction required tailored relief policies and precision measures, and sometimes patience and accuracy such

Contact the writers at huangzhiling@ chinadaily.com.cn