But several months ago, Osman, Matkurban and other villagers in Dariyabui were still living in shabby houses in the middle of the Taklimakan Desert. They used to have no electricity supply or clean tap water.

The households in the Dariyabui township were once regarded as the “l(fā)ast watchers of the desert”. Covering an area of over 15,000 square kilometers with only a few hundred households, Dariyabui is the largest township in the country.

Due to poor transportation, Matxa Osman, 99, the oldest person in his village, said he has hardly left his county.

The Yutian county government planned to build a new village to help rebuild households in Dariyabui township to help them get rid of poverty in 2016.

Later, the central government built a 91-kilometer highway, connecting the outside world to Dariyabui township. New housing, schools and hospitals have also been constructed in the new estates, and internet networks have also been built.

Abdusalam Rustam, 10, said he was glad to have made many new friends in the new village.