The 229,500 poverty-stricken residents in Harbin, capital of China's northernmost Heilongjiang province, will receive higher living allowances, according to the newly-passed "Plan on Raising the Standard of Relief and Support for the Urban and Rural Subsistence Allowances and the Extremely Poor Persons in Harbin.”
 
The plan states that from Jan 1, 2023, Harbin will increase the urban subsistence allowance standard in its nine urban districts from 783 yuan ($109.51) per person per month to 835 yuan per person per month.
 
The rural subsistence allowance standard in these areas will be raised from 401 yuan per person per month to 625 yuan per person per month.
 
For Harbin residents who live in Harbin's nine counties and county-level cities, those with households registered in urban areas will have a minimum living allowance of 669 yuan per person per month, while those in rural areas will have a minimum living allowance of 441 yuan per person per month.
 
In addition, the standards of Harbin's urban and rural low-income families experiencing difficulties will be simultaneously increased by factors of 1.2 and 1.5 over the subsistence allowance standard, respectively.
 
The plan has significantly improved rural standards and narrowed the gap between urban and rural security standards. The increase in rural minimum living standards has reached 55.9 percent, the highest ever.