LANZHOU, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Eighteen counties or county-level cities and districts in northwest China's Gansu Province have shaken off poverty, reducing the number of poor county-level regions in the province to 39, according to the provincial poverty alleviation office.

The 18 poverty-stricken county-level regions have passed strict reviews by poverty relief offices at various levels since last September and have reached the required development levels, the office said.

Last year 18 counties in Gansu were lifted out of poverty thanks to a series of intensified anti-poverty measures.