LANZHOU -- Northwest China's Gansu province lifted 5.5 million people out of poverty from 2012 to 2019, achieving a decisive victory in poverty eradication, the local government said Tuesday.

The province also delisted 67 out of 75 counties from the poverty list in the period, Tang Renjian, governor of the province, told a press conference held in the provincial capital of Lanzhou.

Gansu, a transport hub along the ancient Silk Road and the Belt and Road, is a remote inland region of China.

The harsh natural environment, inadequate infrastructure facilities and weak industrial foundation in Gansu have hindered its development and made it one of the provinces with the heaviest poverty alleviation burden.

By 2012, nearly six million people were reeling under poverty in Gansu, accounting for nearly 40 percent of the province's rural population.

Gansu had made great efforts in poverty alleviation over the past seven years, offering free schooling, medical care, new housing, and clean water for people in poor areas.