(File photo: Xinhua)

KUNMING, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- As Spring Festival falls on Sunday, Dulongjiang, a remote township in southwest China's Yunnan Province, is embracing visitors and locals returning home with safer road conditions and abundant medical supplies.

Home to the Dulong people, an ethnic minority group that long endured poverty and poor access to the outside world, Dulongjiang Township shook off extreme poverty in 2018.

People in Dulongjiang would lose access to the outside world for half a year every year, until a new tunnel opened for traffic in 2014.

Heavy snowfalls, however, could still cut off traffic sometimes. Police and road maintenance workers must be ready to intervene when that happens.

To prevent possible material shortages caused by the road blockage, Dulongjiang doubled its emergency supplies and conducted drills among relevant departments, including traffic police and the hospital, according to Deng Xianghe, head of the Dulongjiang Frontier Police Station.

"I know the government would always ensure that the roads are safe to pass, especially the vulnerable sections," said Da Shichang, a tourist agency operator from northwest China's Qinghai Province. "Their safety measures will make tourists to Dulongjiang feel safer."

Medical facilities in the town also face pressure brought by legions of tourists and locals coming back from cities.

To advocate for hygiene practices and COVID-19 prevention, village chiefs and medical workers in Dulongjiang formed teams to visit every village in the town.

"After our advocacy, villagers would voluntarily ask for vaccination," said 25-year-old Feng Xiuqin, vice director of the township central hospital.

Before Feng came to the town, she worried about inadequate medical supplies and poor equipment, but her worry was dispelled when she was actually in the hospital.

"We have all the medicines and equipment we need, including an X-ray machine," said Feng.

According to Feng, the hospital has increased its stock of medicines, which could meet the three-day need of every villager for one month, and more are coming. It also has 1,200 COVID-19 vaccines.

"Spring Festival is a time for family reunion, I hope all villagers would have a happy and healthy holiday," said Deng.