Photo taken on Sept. 25 shows traditional Tibetan silverware in Yushu. (Xinhua/Feng Qidi)

 When Karma Namgyal turned his hands to the craft of silverware a year ago, he thought it would be a way to stop being a burden to his family.

Karma Namgyal works ontraditional Tibetan silverware in Yushuon Sept. 25. (Xinhua/Feng Qidi)

For free tuition and one meal a day, he joined a program in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in the northwestern province of Qinghai.

Photo taken on Sept. 25 shows traditional Tibetan silverware in Yushu. (Xinhua/Feng Qidi)

The three-year course is part of a local poverty relief program. Master craftsmen from across the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau were invited to pass on their skills to 60 students from poor backgrounds.

Photo taken on Sept. 25 shows traditional Tibetan silverware in Yushu. (Xinhua/Feng Qidi)

After one year of his training, Namgyal, 21, now has high hopes for his new skill. "If everything goes well, I might start my own shop, or become a teacher, he said. "My two brothers will go to college, and my parents won't have to work so hard."

A teacher works ontraditional Tibetan silverware in Yushuon Sept. 25. (Xinhua/Feng Qidi)

The school currently has 10 teachers. They are each paid over 100,000 yuan (about 15,000 U.S. dollars) annually, and this is covered by the local government. Each student's family gets an annual grant of around 3,000 dollars during the duration of the course, for the temporary loss of a labor in the family, according to Nyima Tashi, head of Qumarleb County, where the school is based.

Karma Namgyal works ontraditional Tibetan silverware in Yushuon Sept. 25. (Xinhua/Feng Qidi)

This is a new approach to poverty relief. Rather than just offering money, materials and teaching skills are now on offer, chiming with the Chinese adage: "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

A teacher works ontraditional Tibetan silverware in Yushuon Sept. 25. (Xinhua/Feng Qidi)

Just one block away from the school lies a barbershop, it only recently opened but has already secured a positive reputation among locals, as all its services are free.

Trainees practice in a barbershop in Yushu on Sept. 25 . (Xinhua/Feng Qidi)

This is a similar program to the silverware course. Eighty young people from families living under poverty line can learn to become barbers. Customers have their hair cut for free, while the trainees get hands on experience.

A student practices in a barbershop in Yushu on Sept. 25 . (Xinhua/Feng Qidi)

"Students here have more practice than those in my hometown," said Liu Bin, a teacher from Sichuan Province. "We also recommended 15 outstanding students to receive further training in more developed areas."

Besides craftsmen and barbering, Yushu's vocational courses cover driving, vehicle repair, cooking and dancing, all selected for locals' needs and with places for 875 trainees.

Photo taken on Sept. 25 shows Tangka painting by traineesin Yushu. (Xinhua/Feng Qidi)

The prefecture has 30,571 people, or 35.3 percent of its population, who live under the poverty line, meaning they have a per capita net income of less than 450 dollars a year.

Photo taken on Sept. 25 shows a business street in Yushu. (Xinhua/Feng Qidi)

China plans to lift all of its poor population out of poverty by 2020, with efforts including job creation and relocation of poor people. There are still tens of millions of Chinese living under the national poverty line.