LOCATED in the east of cen- tral China’s Henan Province， Lankao County has 13 towns， three residential communities， and 450 administrative villages under its jurisdiction. It has a total area of 1，116 square km and a total population of 850，000， among which 772，900 are from rural areas. The county was identified as a key county in the national development-oriented poverty alleviation campaign in 2002， and in- cluded in the contiguous destitute region of the Dabie Mountains in 2011.
In April 2014， a total of 77，350 needy people of 23，275 impoverished households in 115 poverty-stricken villages were identified countywide following due process. The incidence of poverty stood at 10 percent.
From 2014 to 2016， Lankao County rolled out a targeted poverty alleviation campaign based on local conditions. The key to targeted poverty alleviation lies in taking targeted measures in terms of recipients， projects， and funding. Every impoverished household is guaranteed help， every village has designated officials to carry out poverty elimination measures， and the goals are met within the defined parameters. Guided by this strategy， a five-pronged initiative has been launched to eliminate poverty： developing local industries， relocating impoverished residents， offering compensation for ecological conservation， improving educational conditions， and providing a social safety net. The initiative aims to enable poor people to shake off poverty by improving local produc-tion capacity， increasing asset income， and upgrading medical services. In carrying out the strategy， solutions will be formulated for issues such as who needs assistance， who is responsible for the work， what assistance measures should be adopted， and how to implement an exit mechanism for those who have been lifted out of poverty.
As a consequence， the incidences of poverty in Lankao County had dropped to 1.27 percent by the end of 2016. In February， it was officially confirmed by the Henan provincial government that the county had risen out of poverty， the first such success in China. Lankao County’s triumph has greatly inspired other places of China.
Pivotal Guidance
Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era， particularly the part on poverty elimination， is the guiding principle for implementing the development-oriented poverty alleviation campaign. The thought offers the theory， methodology， and practical guidance for the campaign.