Ningbo in East China's Zhejiang province has been helping boost employment in the Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture in Southwest China's Sichuan province.

Last April, Ningbo was paired with Liangshan under the east-west poverty relief program by the central government, which sees more prosperous provinces and municipalities in East China lend support to underdeveloped regions in the country.

Ningbo has been assigned to support 11 counties in Liangshan.

To date, Ningbo enterprises have built 56 workshops in Liangshan, creating nearly 3,000 jobs. They have also offered 131 vocational training sessions to more than 11,000 people in the prefecture, official statistics show.

In addition, enterprises have been incentivized to hire Liangshan residents to work in Ningbo. Companies that do so can apply for a subsidy of up to 50,000 yuan ($7,692).

Official statistics show there are about 20,000 workers from Liangshan working in Ningbo.

Liangshan is the largest inhabited area of the Yi people in China. Located in the southwest of Sichuan province, it covers an area of 60,400 square kilometers and has jurisdiction over two cities and 15 counties, of which 10 counties are inhabited by the Yi.