Beijing – October 13, 2026 -- A new documentary, From Barren Land to Prosperity: Fujian-Ningxia Partnership, premiered on China Media Group's CCTV-4 channel on October 5. It looks at how one of China's poorest regions changed over three decades.
Xihaigu went from "unsuitable for habitation" to a development model
The United Nations once labelled Xihaigu, at the southern tip of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, one of the least suitable places on the planet for human habitation. Chronic drought and barren soil kept residents in severe poverty. Today the area is described as a model of socio-economic progress and environmental rejuvenation.
A 1996 strategy paired east coast regions with the less-developed west
The change traces back to a nationwide strategy introduced in 1996. It encouraged China's more developed east coast regions to cooperate with poverty alleviation in the west. China Media Group made the film to mark the strategy's 30th anniversary.
Investors and experts from Fujian helped shift Ningxia to self-sustained growth
The documentary follows the move from external financial support to locally driven growth and rural revitalisation, backed by investors and experts from Fujian Province. It features interviews with entrepreneurs, resettled residents and front-line aid workers. They describe large-scale ecological resettlement projects, industries ranging from wine-grape cultivation to rural e-commerce, and steady improvements to education, health care and infrastructure.
UN Under-Secretary-General Melissa Fleming said the United Nations would welcome wider application of this development model.