The improved infrastructure has brought new hope to the life of locals in Yunnan province's Erdaoping village that is surrounded by cliffs on three sides. Photo by Yang Feiyue / China Daily

Perfect place for agriculture

Poor access to the outside world made it almost impossible for locals to trade. So, they lived off the land.

Fortunately, the ideal natural environment of the village makes it a perfect place for agriculture.

Its mild temperature at 25 C throughout the year, and precipitation is just right for peanuts, corn and tobacco.

The tiered land on one cliffside is covered in oily green barley in late December.

So, raising goats is easy as the animals can feed on the cliffs.

"I only have to release them in the morning and they would return at the end of the day," says Jiang .

Each household owns 3 mu (2,000 square meters) of land on average where they grow vegetables, and raise chickens and goats that are more enough to feed them, says Zhu Haitao, a poverty alleviation official with the Jiaopingdu government.

When they needed to pay for their children's tuition fees or someone fell sick and needed medical treatment, they would sell some livestock, says Zhu.

However, poor road conditions cut the village off from the outside world.

As a result, many of the youngsters left home to seek work outside.