For Li Jinlian, an NPC deputy born in 1992, it is not easy to attend the two sessions. To join this year’s two sessions in Beijing, she employed a motorbike, a truck, a coach and boarded two planes in succession.

With her hometown village in remote Weixi Lisu Autonomous County, northwest Yunnan’s Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, the Lisu NPC deputy have attended the two sessions twice in 2018 and 2019, with her focuses on rural infrastructure, left-behind children, and employment of college graduates.

"A road will not necessarily bring everyone money, but without road access the villagers can’t be rich," said Li Jinlian at the 2018 NPC session. Later last year her suggestion was adopted and construction of new roads in her hometown began.

"The new road most excited the children in the village, whose one-way trip to school every day is reduced to around 10 minutes.” Li Jinlian said it used to take her 40 to 50 minutes to get to school along the zig-zag mountain trails.

At the just-concluded two sessions this year, Li Jinlian suggested that special efforts be made to help poor college graduates by providing more avenues for job hunting, which can prevent them inheriting the poverty from their parents.

For the good of left-behind children, Li Jinlian said rural teachers’ salary should be increased, adding some local teaching positions just have a monthly salary of around 2,000 yuan.

Source: China Youth Daily; trans-editing by Wang Shixue