total of 32 couples got married under the witness of their family members, relatives and friends in collective wedding with Huayao (a branch of the Yao nationality) customs on Monday in Longhui County, central China's Hunan province.

After the enthusiastic drinking and the mud smearing, the procession of welcoming the newlyweds set off amidst the lively gongs and drums. Colorful Huayao clothes and umbrellas formed a moving scenery.

Feng Jinxing, a Yao young man, completed his junior college education under the support of the "Yulu Program" for poverty alleviation through education. While working in Zhuzhou, he met and fell in love with a Han girl from Loudi and became the first guy in the village to marry a Han girl.

"In the past, Huayao people are poor and the life was relatively backward. At that time, we Yao people didn't dare to come into contact with Han girls because we didn't have confidence in our hearts," said Feng Jinxing, a groom in Huxingshan Yaozu Town in Longhui County.

This year, with the help of CPC's policy, the family of Feng Jinxing not only shook off poverty and built new houses, but also started to open a homestay.

The collective wedding excited Xiangjuan a lot. The couple of Xiao Guiqiang and Xiangjuan got their marriage certificate in January 2019. Unexpectedly, Xiangjuan was diagnosed with severe pancreatitis and their wedding had to be postponed.

To take care of his wife, Xiao Guiqiang rent 106 Mu (about 7 hectares) land together with his parents. They grow double-season rice and Xiao take part in the growing training organized by local government many times. Now their yearly income is close to 60,000 yuan.

After he signed up for the collective wedding, Xiao stuck "happy marriage" decorations on doors and the decorations were stored at home for almost two years.

"We always want a wedding and today our dream comes true. We will work harder in the future and believe that our life will get better and better," said Xiao Guiqiang, another groom in Huxingshan Yaozu Town in Longhui County.

In recent years, Longhui County comprehensively upgraded public services such as education and medical care, implemented policies such as health poverty alleviation and housing safety guarantees. At the same time, it has increased poverty alleviation efforts in characteristic industries such as honeysuckle flowers, kiwifruits and longya Lilium brownii var. viridulum Bakers.

By the end of 2019, all the 192 poor villages in Longhui had shaken off poverty and the incidence of poverty dropped to 0.68 percent.

"[We should] let them [know] that happiness is the result of struggle, and let them [understand] that though they have got rid of poverty and got married, they need to create a better life and a better future," said Wu Houbin, director of Poverty Alleviation Office of Longhui County.