More than 70 percent of the 2 million qualified rural citizens in Ningxia have joined in Ningxia's new rural pension program and 336,000 rural citizens above 60 years old have received their pensions, said the local human resources and social security department.

The new rural pension program, which started its pilot project in 2009, had covered the whole region by the end of 2010.

The program is open to all rural citizens in Ningxia who are both qualified and willing to join in, according to the department.