No Poverty Land

We find out how one foreigner is playing an important role in helping villagers get out of poverty, why he's doing it. Also, in getting rid of poverty in China, many people have made great sacrifice for others. Host / Reporter: Janis Chan

Through live-streaming, vlogging and other social media platforms, many grassroot citizens have managed to harness digital technologies to catch up with the country's economic growth. Host / Reporter: Janis Chan

In a deeply impoverished remote district between Sichuan and Tibet, the image of a 19-year-old local boy was captured and published it online. He boy became so famous that local tourism grew and villagers are no longer poor. Host / Reporter: Janis Chan

In Yunnan, next to the border of Myanmar, lies many impoverished rural villages. Thanks to one local farmer who seized the chance to grow coffee beans, agricultural businesses have now flourished and brought wealth to villagers. Host / Reporter: Janis Chan

To lift villagers out of poverty in China, the government cannot do it alone. Large corporations and enterprises must play a role as well. One conglomerate has helped transform an old, rural town in Guizhou, to become a tourism hotspot. Host / Reporter: Janis Chan

Bringing water to Ningxia, one of the driest places in China, is no easy task. But it is helping farmers get out of poverty. Also, one ethnic group in Hainan island has stopped damaging the ecology, so they are no longer impoverished. Host / Reporter: Janis Chan

Ningxia in northwest China is one of the harshest and most remote regions. Millions of impoverished people have been living there for centuries. With the help of richer coastal provinces, a relocation plan was put in place to lift those around the Gobi desert out of poverty. Host / Reporter: Janis Chan

Children in China's impoverished rural mountain region could only dream of going to university, until some businesses decided to help. And when these young people graduated, they decided to bring new ideas to help rural farmers prosper. Host / Reporter: Janis Chan

Children in the mountainous region of Yunnan province in China often don't go to school until they're teenagers. That's because the roads there are just too dangerous. An initiative to provide education near them is closing the wealth gap. Host / Reporter: Janis Chan

Yunnan is beautiful with rivers and gorges. But many villagers are poor since they can only travel via hundreds of dangerous ziplines. What can the government do to help them? Host / Reporter: Janis Chan

Improving the daily life of rural people has allowed China to tackle poverty like no other countries. We follow villagers from the Cliff Village in a migration plan to their new homes closer to healthcare, education and other facilities. Host / Reporter: Janis Chan

Improving the daily life of rural people has allowed China to tackle poverty like no other countries. In the first of our 12-part series, we visit a remote "cliff village" deep in Sichuan province, to see how residents can get easier access to education and a stable income. Host / Reporter: Janis Chan

Coral reefs provide a balance to the underwater ecosystem. But over-fishing and other illegal activities, have led to bleaching and death of coral reefs. Scientists have set up a coral rescue unit in Hainan in Southern China, and over the past 20 years, they have successfully planted 150,000 corals and re-established the reefs. Host: Janis Chan

China produced billion tons of garbage every year. In Binyang Guangxi, a solution was created to turn trash into a valuable material - cement. It has since become the world's largest urban integrated waste management solution, turning water and oil base waste such as food waste, into clean energy source. Host: Janis Chan

Rapid development in the 1980s and 90s allowed villagers to grow their wealth via industrialization. In Zhejiang’s Yucun village, local factories created heavy pollution, damaging the green mountain and clear water, as well as their villagers’ own health. Now villagers have decided to change their way and started a correction to go green. Host: Janis Chan

Snow leopards are known as "spirit of the mountain" and an endangered species. A group of volunteers are determined to solve the ecological conflict between wild animals and human in Tianshan in Xinjiang. Host: Janis Chan

Kubuqi Desert was once covered with lush grass. Excessive cultivation, grass burning and grazing has led to desertification. The 3.6 billion hectare desert is expanding at an alarming rate. Inner Mongolia has to resort to a unique way to cure the desert, turning the Sea Of Death into an oasis. Host: Janis Chan

Wild elephants running away from their natural habitat in Yunnan not only have villagers worrying about their crops being eaten, but also ring the alarm bell that we may be making their home no longer livable. A team of "elephant papas" have been tasked to take care of these endangered animals. Host: Janis Chan

Dali has always been a popular tourist destination, but growing garbage and pollution are ruining both the natural beauty and businesses. Water pollution has led to blue algae bloom, a key sign showing how "sick" Erhai has become. Host: Janis Chan

China's Yangtze River is one of the richest rivers in the world. But species like white dolphin and Chinese paddlefish are facing extinction as fishermen deploy electricity, explosives and poison. Luckily, a fishing ban is now in effect. But what about the livelihood of some 200,000 in the fishing trade? Host: Janis Chan

In western China, Kekexili experienced a disaster in the 1990s. One local resident sacrificed his life fighting poachers of rare animal species. His death resulted in a butterfly effect that inspired others to take over the duty to protect this precious land in Qinghai. Host: Janis Chan

Economic growth often comes at the cost of our ecosystem. As we start our 10-part throughout China, we arrive at Kekexili in Qinghai, where a brigade of volunteers risk their lives to protect local wildlife against poachers. Host: Janis Chan