Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong province, has made strong efforts to improve the city's social relief and social security systems and alleviate poverty in the past five years.

During the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20), the city's social policies and systems have gradually improved.

Social relief has expanded to include cash benefits and a string of other temporary assistance measures ranging from healthcare to housing programs, all aimed at helping people in need survive during difficult times.

By the end of November 2020, 56,987 registered impoverished households had been included in the social assistance system.

A total of 1,498 social organizations in the city were encouraged to participate in poverty alleviation efforts in various forms. They invested 302 million yuan ($46.19 million) and carried out 829 projects, benefitting 3.63 million people.

The city's urban and rural subsistence allowances have been raised from 550 yuan and 300 yuan per month at the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-15) to 821 yuan and 614 yuan per month in the 13th Five-Year Plan period.

Jinan has also established a subsidy system for elderly people with financial difficulties and provided subsistence allowances of 80 yuan, 100 yuan, and 200 yuan per person per month for those aged 60-79, 80-89, and 90-99. A total of 48,000 elderly people currently benefit from the subsidies.

During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, Jinan also worked to promote philanthropy. The city is home to 63 charitable organizations, which raised 492 million yuan and donated 476 million yuan during the period, benefiting 731,500 people.