Zhang Wei, general director of the Civil Works of the Yunnan Zhaotong Poverty Alleviation and Resettlement Project and secretary of its united Party branch, poses for a photo in the resettlement site of Jing'an County, Zhaotong City, Southwest China's Yunnan Province, on August 21. [Xinhua/Liu Dawei]

Located 1,500 kilometers to the west of the highly developed Shenzhen Special Economic Zone in South China's Guangdong Province, the Wumeng Mountain Area, located on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, in contrast, is one of the most poverty-stricken areas in China.

Here, the largest cross-county poverty alleviation and resettlement project in China — the relocation of impoverished residents of Jing'an and Ludian counties in Zhaotong City, Southwest China's Yunnan Province — is under way. At present, more than 60,000 registered impoverished households have been relocated, a remarkable achievement in the battle against poverty.

Zhang Wei, general director of the Civil Works of the project and Secretary of its united Party branch, who comes from Shenzhen Overseas Decoration Engineering Co under the China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), fully deploys her skills and talents on the anti-poverty battlefront.

Zhang entered the company after graduation, and was later appointed to support the Belt and Road construction in Algeria for seven years. Soon after returning to Shenzhen, she was assigned with another task — the poverty reduction and resettlement project in Zhaotong — and became one of the frontline builders working to eliminate poverty in regions in deep poverty.

Due to her outstanding performance, she has twice been honored as the CSCEC's woman pacesetter.

Although Jing'an and Ludian are located in the same city, they are more than 60 kilometers — over an hour's drive — apart. As the general director, Zhang had to juggle work on both sites and often led her team to work overtime due to the tight project schedule and the challenges they faced — building houses on rugged terrain.

In the past two years, the team has finished two cross-county resettlement areas, which are equivalent to the size of medium-sized counties.

Shenzhen has sent more than 8,000 workers like Zhang to participate in the poverty relief work at the grassroots level since 1990. They shoulder the responsibilities and have made their own contributions to building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and to winning the battle against poverty by 2020.

Zhang's husband Wang Fei serves as a project manager in Shenzhen Overseas Decoration Engineering Co. He was assigned to take over a construction project in the Middle East and recently returned to Shenzhen. After his quarantine ended, Wang took their daughter to the airport to pick up Zhang, who arrived back in Shenzhen on September 3.

Zhang Wei (C) and the project management team check the progress of work in the resettlement area of Jing'an County, Southwest China's Yunnan Province, on August 21. [Xinhua/Liu Dawei]

Zhang Wei (2nd, R) discusses work with colleagues over lunch in the resettlement area of Ludian County, Southwest China's Yunnan Province, on August 21, after finishing the work on the other site in Jing'an, another county in the province. [Xinhua/Liu Dawei]

Zhang Wei (C) talks with a girl in a summer camp in the resettlement area of Ludian County, Southwest China's Yunnan Province, on August 21. [Xinhua/Liu Dawei]

An aerial photo shows the resettlement area of Ludian County in Southwest China's Yunnan Province on August 21. [Xinhua/Liu Dawei]

An aerial photo shows the resettlement area of Jing'an County in Southwest China's Yunnan Province on August 21. [Xinhua/Liu Dawei]

Zhang Wei receives a video call from her daughter on the way back to the resettlement area of Jing'an County in Southwest China's Yunnan Province, on August 22. [Xinhua/Liu Dawei]

Zhang Wei (L) reunites with her family at the airport in Shenzhen City, South China's Guangdong Province, on September 3, excitedly hugging her daughter. [Xinhua/Liu Dawei]

Zhang Wei (R) and her husband take their daughter to the Shenzhen Citizen Square on September 4, enjoying a family reunion. [Xinhua/Liu Dawei]

(Source: Xinhua/Translated and edited by Women of China)