Meanwhile, the village completed its drinking water project with Tianjin's aid funds, solving the villagers' water collection problem.

"Before tap water was available, villagers had to rely on storing rainwater in cellars," Wu Yonghua, the deputy mayor of Tongren city, said. "After the arrival of the aid officials, a stable water source was found. Now, as soon as you turn on the tap, water comes out."

After more than three months of intense work, the water supply safety project for key impoverished villages was fully completed on Oct 20, 2019, 84 days ahead of schedule. To prevent damage to the water supply pipes during winter, the depth for the underground pipe was increased from 1.5 meters to 2.6 meters, ensuring that the water pipeline would not freeze in winter.

"We must focus on major projects while also considering our overall work. We must truly use the aid funds where our people need them the most," Pei Zhi, the chief commander of Tianjin Aid Qinghai Command Post, the deputy Party secretary and the vice governor of Huangnan, said. "Let's truly enable the people to feel the effects of our counterpart assistance work."

Chen Yijun contributed to this story.