China's rural poor
Villagers gather outside a house in Yuangudui village, a poor settlement tucked in a remote corner of China's northwestern province of Gansu.
The village recently received a visit from Communist Party chief Xi Jinping, who takes over as China's new president this March. Closing the yawning income gap between places like Yuangudui and wealthier parts of China is likely to be a priority of his administration.
A villager cooks in a darkened house in Yuangudui.
A snapshot of China's Communist Party chief, Xi Jinping, is seen in the village.
Eighty-one-year-old Ma Gang sits by the stove in his home in Yuangudui.
Ma Gang stands next to a portrait of former Chairman Mao Zedong, which hangs in his home.
A woman closes her eyes as she talks with another resident in the village.
Teenagers play basketball on a dusty court.
Villagers gather outside a house.
Residents watch as a ball flies through the air during a basketball game.
A man carries buckets of water along an alley in Yuangudui. Villagers do not have access to running water and have to haul it from a well several times a day.
A man stands on farmland outside his home.
A mule stands outside one of the village houses.
A villager leads a cow down a dusty track.
