URUMQI, March 6 -- Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has sent around 70,000 public servants to its rural areas to help improve the livelihood of local residents, local authorities said Thursday.

Liu Yanmei, a member of the organization department of the regional Communist Party of China Committee, said that the cadres are among a staggering 200,000 civil servants to be designated to the vast region.

"They will visit over 8000 villages, more than 700 state farms and pastures, and approximately 1,000 communities in Xinjiang over the course of three years," Liu said.

These visits are a good way for cadres to accumulate grassroot experience and help improve local livelihoods, Liu added.

Mu Lei, a regional official who spent three months in Hotan Prefecture on a similar program in 2013, said that he spent most of his time with villagers, doing farm work and having talks.

In 2013, 40,000 plus public servants in Xinjiang were sent to rural areas to understand grassroot life and help improve living conditions there.