The program was jointly initiated in July 2010 by three coastal provinces -- Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Shandong -- as well as the cities of Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai.

The program has included 1,626 projects with 552 officials from the cities and provinces dispatched to Qinghai to offer help, covering fields of medical treatment, education, ecological and environmental protection, industrial development as well as training for local officials.

The six cities and provinces also explored on programs that could align the resources of Qinghai with their own advantages in finance, technologies, management and market.

An additional investment of 1.1 billion yuan have been earmarked for the next three years to help Qinghai's most poverty-stricken regions shake off poverty, the local authorities said.