Located in northwest of Weixi County, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, the Biluo village is home to 3,316 impoverished rural residents, most of them belonging to the Lisu ethnic minority.

In the Lisu language, Biluo means a “beautiful valley”. With lush forests and lucid   water, the village does enjoy ecological beauty. However, the area is also isolated and thus impoverished since ancient times.

The V-shaped deep valleys made arable land scarce, and the high mountains made it hard to connect the village to other towns.

With local poverty alleviation efforts in recent years, newly-built roads finally reached the Biluo village, making it easier for locals to sell their specialties of Chinese yam, honey and others to the outside world.

Seeing the visitors, the Biluo villagers warmly invited them to their new houses with confidence. "Now my room is spacious and I live an easy life finally,” said an 84-year-old senior with vigor.

So far, the poverty rate in Biluo has dropped to 1.54% from 24.09% in 2013, with dramatic changes of living conditions seen in the village.

Source: xgll.com.cn; trans-editing by Wang Shixue