Tan Furong is satisfied with the life after his family was relocated in 2000 to Niuling Village beside the Three Gorges Dam Project.

The 58-year-old farmer said, "My family are living a life similar to those in the towns," referring to his three-storey building and household electric appliances including hi-fi system, fridge and TV set.

He paid only 50,000 yuan (about 6,250 U.S. dollars) for the building that cost 100,000 yuan (some 12,500 dollars) as the government granted him a subsidy of 50,000 yuan.

Tan and the other four members of his family were moved before their former home was submerged by the Three Gorges Reservoir.

Official statistics say a total of 1.13 million people in Chongqing and Hubei Province have been relocated to make way for the gigantic Three Gorges Project, the majority of whom are rural farmers who live in need.

Nearly 90 percent of Chongqingers in abject poverty had lived in the Three Gorges Reservoir area, according to Ou Huishui, deputy director of Chongqing Relocation Bureau.

The Three Gorges Project has brought opportunities of development for these people, Ou said.

The Chinese government had spent 42.86 billion yuan (approximately 5.36 billion dollars) by July 2005 on resettlement.

Before the move, Tan's family earned 10,000 yuan (about 1,250 dollars) a year. Their annual income has risen to 30,000 yuan (3,750 dollars) after acquiring an orchard in Niuling Village and Tan brought a truck for commercial transportation.

However, some farmers are still missing their fertile farmland passed down by their ancestors. After the relocation from the plains, they only have arid and barren farms in the hills.

Liu Anxing who now lives in Taiping village in Yichang, Hubei, will have less than 1,400 square meters of farmland in October when the water level in the Three Gorges Reservoir rises to 156 meters. He is worried about his future as he knows only how to make a living from farming.

About 200 other resettlers in Taiping face the same problem as Liu.

The local government is planning to bring one and half hectares of wasteland into cultivation and allocate the land to resettlers of the Three Gorges Project, according to village official Wang Yanpin.

The local government is also trying to attract investment for a wharf to be built, which is expected to provides jobs for resettlers, Wang said.

Gao Jinbang, an official with the Three Gorges Project Construction Committee, said that the relocation of migrants is drawing to the end. Nevertheless, he noted, a lot of work has to be done to help all the resettlers out of poverty.

"With conscientious efforts of the government, resettlers will bid farewell to poverty. I am optimistic in this regard," Gao added.

Source: Xinhua