BEIJING - China has made substantial progress in renovating the dilapidated houses in rural areas, said the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD).

Over 6 million registered poor households have seen their dilapidated houses renovated since the country launched the "three tough battles" against major risks, poverty and pollution in November 2015, the MOHURD said.

In 2018 alone, 1.57 million registered rural poor households saw their dilapidated houses renovated, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

China plans to renovate another 15 million units of shanty houses from 2018 to 2020 to speed up its urbanization drive and improve people's livelihood.