Large-scale population exchanges have deepened mutual understanding between the two places, Yang said.

"Working together, learning together and building together has become part of daily life," he said.

For younger generations in Xihaigu, the impact is tangible.

Students can attend vocational schools set up under the Fujian-Ningxia partnership and find skilled jobs in coastal cities. Women relocated from remote villages are now able to work in factories and businesses close to their new homes.

"What they feel is not only personal success," Yang said. "It is the support of the country, of society, and of the Chinese nation as one family lifting them forward."