For some rural officials, being deemed a poverty-stricken county is a cause for celebration

To get rich is glorious, late leader Deng Xiaoping said, but to some county officials, staying poor has advantages.

As part of its efforts to alleviate poverty, the central government each year gives tens of billions of yuan to 592 chosen counties it keeps track of with a list.

The list - in effect, a benchmark of poverty - is updated every year, but in reality, it changes little. A few names might be added or removed, but for reasons known only to officials, the total number must stay at 592.

Most of the counties are truly in need, home to farmers who fall below the official national poverty line of earning 2,300 yuan (HK$2,925) a year or less. But making the list can mean receiving millions of yuan in handouts.

"Counties compete fiercely to get onto the list," said Du Xiaoshan, deputy director of the Rural Development Institute under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "Once selected, some counties try all means to stay on it, so they can continue to enjoy the benefits."

In some instances, a lack of accountability has led to abuses. Hailun, a county-level city in Heilongjiang province, has been on the list since 2012. A fifth of its 800,000 residents earn less than 1,300 yuan a year, and 70 per cent of its farmers rely on loans to survive.

But Hailun's sparkling new municipal office buildings suggest a wholly different standard of living. Local media reports say the 30,000 square metre complex - a main building of 13 storeys and two of five-storeys - contains 820 offices rooms and underground parking for 235 cars.