We must “let some get rich first,” Deng Xiaoping famously stated, summarizing a development strategy that has turbocharged China’s urbanization for decades.As emerging megacities drained the countryside of working-aged people,China gave rise to the second most billionaires in the world, all the while leaving behind 600 million in rural areas who live on less than 1,000 RMB (150 USD) a month.

Now, China’s leaders are promising a great recalibration: President Xi Jinping declared in 2014 that China would invest hundreds of billions of RMB into the countryside to eradicate extreme poverty by the end of 2020, at the pace of one million people per month.

On the eve of Xi’s audacious deadline,we go on the road in Jilin, Zhejiang,and Sichuan provinces to witness onthe-ground efforts to inject new life into declining villages. Some residents experiment with new methods of income—such as livestreaming and tourism—while others bring back rural cooperatives. As remote corners are connected to roads and internet, and college graduates forego the city grind to pursue more bucolic dreams,China’s countryside seeks a second life.So how far away is that “rich and rural”country life?

扶贫四十多年来，中国农村发生了翻天覆地的变化。

走进四川凉山“悬崖村”、浙江温岭“彩虹村”和吉林延边州，看网红直播、旅游农业、新型农村合作社和越来越多选择回乡创业的年轻人如何改变了当地人的生活