Students in Yining county, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region, pose for a photo with 200,000 books donated by Nantong city, Jiangsu province. [Photo/WeChat account: wxntfb]

This year marks Zhang Hua's seventh year working as a poverty alleviation cadre in Yining county, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region.

Zhang is from Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province, and has been in charge of education, health, and attracting investment to the county since December 2013. He has since been dedicated to improving locals' living standards.

"Yining has a large population and most people were poorly educated and earned a living from farming," said Zhang. "So I gave top priority to developing industries and promoting education."

To this end, a textile industrial zone was established in the southern part of the county, which aims to develop a comprehensive industrial chain centered on apparel that engages in the supply of raw materials, processing and manufacturing, trading, training, exhibitions, storage, and logistics.

Zhang said that national and regional motivation to develop the textile industry, Nantong's solid industrial foundation as a textile center, and Yining's strong labor force would accelerate the development of the industry.

Around a dozen companies have started operating in the zone already, and more than 5,000 farmers and herdsmen are now living comfortably as industrial workers.

However, Zhang believes that his work is far from complete and education is key to sustainable development.

A Nantong Experimental School has thus been established in Yining, bringing Nantong's teaching standards and techniques to the county. Teachers from the two sides are carrying out regular exchanges to help enhance the quality of education in the county.

Over the course of several years, teachers and students from nearly 200 schools in Nantong donated more than one million books to their counterparts in Yining.

Nantong paired with Yining to help lift the county out of poverty in 2011. Since then, the eastern city has dispatched many officials to the county, with each batch working there for a length of three years.

Zhang asked to stay for another three years when his term ended in 2016, and he made the same decision again this January.

There are currently nearly 90 officials and technical workers from Nantong working in Yining.

"Our goal is to maximize Nantong's role in developing Xinjiang through joint efforts," said Zhang.