Students enjoy their free lunches at a rural primary school in Huishui county, Guizhou. [Photo provided to CHINA DAILY]

Guizhou has also rolled out measures to support 5G infrastructure construction, new energy vehicles, new materials and industries in the aerospace sector. In addition to encouraging low-carbon development, the province is also responding to a national campaign to improve the environment and ecology.

At the Shunhai State-owned Forest Farm in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou, generations of efforts have turned it from an arid area totaling 2,000 hectares to green land. Founded in 1958, the farm stretches across three districts－Nanming, Yunyan, and Wudang. It is 23 kilometers long and 15 km wide. Its forest area is 1,944 hectares, with a forest coverage rate as high as 90 percent.

"Guizhou will continue to promote green and low-carbon high-quality development, encourage companies to accelerate their green and low-carbon transition, put stricter limits on approvals of energy-intensive and high-emission projects, and improve services for major project constructions," said Yang Tongguang, head of Guizhou's Bureau of Ecology and Environment.

In addition to promoting a green economy, Guizhou has also stepped up efforts in infrastructure construction, poverty alleviation, education, healthcare and housing in its pursuit of high-quality development.

Through such efforts, Guizhou's GDP grew from more than 674.2 billion yuan in 2012 to nearly 1.96 trillion yuan last year, and the province is now home to nearly 3.89 million businesses.

Wang Jin contributed to this story.