One of those in Shibadong is Liu Su, whose pedigree and credentials could hardly be any more urban. He was born in the city of Changde in Hunan province, about 280 kilometers to the east, and he studied for a year in the US and for a doctorate at City University of Hong Kong.

After joining the Hunan provincial department of water resources in 2018 he was selected to work in the village as assistant to the village director, and now villagers know him fondly as Dr Liu.

While he is living apart from his wife and children at the moment－they live in Changsha－he says he needs no persuading to stay on in the village.

"I've just started working recently, and given that Shibadong village was where the government's targeted poverty alleviation policy was first adopted it's a unique place, and I feel really lucky to be here."

It is a great place to learn and gain experience at the grassroots level, he says, his many varied tasks as village director's assistant including to find out what villagers need and to develop its agricultural and tourist resources.

Liu came up with the idea of opening a restaurant that villagers would own and run, and this turned in a profit of 120,000 yuan ($17,068) from August to January, and created five stable jobs for villagers.