Renovation program raises living standards in rural areas

Jinhuo Buwei used to dread rainstorms because the water leaked into her house and even washed the soil off the interior cob walls, made from a rough mix of water, mud and straw.

Quake-proof constructions provide safer housing for villagers

Located on the Alpide seismic belt, which runs from the Himalayas to the Mediterranean Sea, Yunnan is an earthquake-prone province in southwestern China.

Modern technology solves an old problem

The makeshift toilets once used by residents of Jindan, a village in Xiangyun county, Yunnan province, were unbearably dirty and fetid, especially during summer when they were plagued by flies and mosquitoes, posing a health risk.

Tourism puts poor village on path to prosperity

Editor's note: In the run-up to the 19th Communist Party of China National Congress, China Daily sent six reporters to villages nationwide to live for a month and take a look at how people are working to ensure that China's poverty eradication plan succeeds.

Around China

Shanxi

Boy gets soccer ball - and then some

An 8-year-old village boy who had been saving up for a soccer ball since winter in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region not only got what he wished for but a lot more. Training gear for his classmates came as an unexpected bonus.

Hangzhou bicycles get electric upgrade

Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, is planning to upgrade its public rental bicycles from strictly pedal power to electric hybrids.

Two jailed for illegally selling vaccines

Two people have been sentenced to jail after being convicted of illegal trading vaccines, Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday.

Trial approved for blood protein cultivated in rice

WUHAN - China's food and drug authority has approved a clinical trial of human blood protein cultivated in transgenic rice seeds, which could lead to large-scale production of much-needed blood plasma.

IN BRIEF

Wrongfully jailed father presses for compensation

Guo Li stared across the table, his calm exterior momentarily giving way to anger. "My fight is not over yet," he said, shortly after a court overturned his 2010 conviction for attempting to extort the manufacturer of a tainted milk powder that poisoned his daughter.

Beijing to make a citywide push for student nutrition

Boarding schools in Beijing will be banned from selling soda drinks in cafeterias and stores inside campuses this year, part of an effort to encourage students to eat healthy food, the city's health authority said.