Ningyang county in Tai'an, Shandong province, has made strides in boosting development in various ways over the past 10 years.

The gross domestic product of the county increased from 16.29 billion yuan ($2.27 billion) in 2012 to 27.41 billion yuan in 2021, with an average annual growth rate of 6.6 percent.

The county's total retail sales reached 14.12 billion yuan with an average annual growth rate of 8.2 percent and its public budget reached 1.42 billion yuan with an average annual growth rate of 5.1 percent.

Over the past decade, Ningyang county has bolstered its efforts to transform its old growth drivers into new ones.

The county's three pillar industries – high-end chemicals, high-end equipment manufacturing, and new energy – are pushing ahead to achieve 10 billion yuan in profits. Its characteristic industries – the steel ball industry and the auto parts industry – were included into provincial and municipal-level industry clusters.

Over the past decade, Ningyang alleviated poverty in the county with all of its 91 provincial and municipal-level poverty villages having been lifted out of poverty.

The county has also beefed up its efforts to improve residents' livelihoods over the past decade as the per capital disposable income of urban and rural residents exceeded 40,000 yuan and 20,000 yuan, respectively, increasing 7.8 percent and 9.1 percent annually.

A bird's-eye view of Ningyang county's Nangucheng village shows more apartment buildings, wider roads and a cleaner living environment from the desolate village it used to be 10 years ago.  [Photo/WeChat account: Any0538]