President Xi Jinping visits Banyan village, in Huzhu Tu Autonomous County, northwestern China's Qinghai Province during an inspection visit, Aug. 23, 2016. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)
BANYAN, Qinghai, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Treading a muddy stretch of unfinished road in the rain, President Xi Jinping came to the new home of Lyu Youzhang, a villager from Banyan of Huzhu Tu Autonomous County in northwestern China's Qinghai Province on Tuesday.
Lyu and his fellow villagers used to live in very poor conditions in the mountains before being resettled to the new location as part of a poverty relief project.
Xi checked the floor plan of Lyu's new home and asked about the construction progress and the hot bed stove, a heated sleeping platform common to north China.
President Xi Jinping checks the construction progress of Lyu Youzhang's new home in Banyan village, Qinghai Province, Aug. 23, 2016. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)
Residents of the Banyan village once used water from wells, but now every home receives tap water.
Xi said he hoped villagers' lives would get better and better as utilities such as water, power and communications bring convenience to the new village.
President Xi Jinping listens to Lyu Youzhang introducing the tap water facility at his home in Banyan village, Qinghai Province, Aug. 23, 2016. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)
Visiting the home of Lyu Youjin, another villager from Banyan, Xi read guidebooks on poverty relief distributed to Lyu's family.
President Xi Jinping reads a poverty relief guidebook at the home of Lyu Youjin, another villager from Banyan, Qinghai Province, Aug. 23, 2016. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)
The president also asked Lyu and his family if they were satified with the poverty relief project and inquired about their future plans on farming, working in the cities and their children's education.
Xi stressed that such village relocation projects must continue, to ensure villagers move into quality new homes. More measures to help lift the villagers out of poverty must follow once they resettle, Xi said.
President Xi Jinping receives a warm welcome from villagers and workers at Banyan village, Qinghai Province, Aug. 23, 2016. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)
President Xi Jinping receives a warm welcome from villagers and workers at Banyan village, Qinghai Province, Aug. 23, 2016. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)
President Xi Jinping receives warm welcome from villagers and workers at Banyan village, Qinghai Province, Aug. 23, 2016. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)
On Tuesday, Xi also visited the ecological environment monitoring center for Qinghai Province, located in the provincial capital Xining.
Through the center's video monitoring system, Xi watched the real-time images sent from hundreds of kilometers in the Sanjiangyuan region, the cradle of China's three major rivers -- the Yangtze River, the Yellow River and the Lancang River.
President Xi Jinping is welcomed by staff at the ecological environment monitoring center for Qinghai Province, in Xining, capital of Qinghai Province, Aug. 23, 2016. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)
Xi pointed out that protecting the Sanjiangyuan region is critical to the development of the Chinese nation. Restricting or even banning exploitation in the region helps development, as Qinghai plays an important role in building the nation's ecological barriers.
Talking to staff at local monitoring centers via video connections, Xi learned about the local subsidies, personnel and the protection of wildlife, including the snow leopard. He also wished a happy and healthy life to all residents in the Sanjiangyuan region.
He also visited a state-owned solar company in Xining on Tuesday afternoon, where he learned how solar cell panels are made in the factory workshop.
Xi stressed that Qinghai should develop a complete industrial chain for the solar photovoltaic industry and let clean energy benefit the people.
President Xi Jinping examines a solar cell panel at a factory workshop in a solar power company under the State Power Investment Corporation, in Xining, capital of Qinghai Province, Aug. 23, 2016. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)
This was the second day of Xi's tour in Qinghai.
On Monday, Xi visited a Tibetan village in Golmud City and received warm welcome from the local villagers. He also visited a dock at Qinghai Salt Lake Potash Company Limited and called on the province to set a good example by maintaing a balance between protecting and utilizing natural resources.
