This paper examines the practice and experience of village elite-driven poverty alleviation in Zhuigaolai Village, Phoenix County, Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hunan Province. Based on the investigation, we believe that the village elite-driven poverty alleviation is the most important cause for the remarkable effect of poverty reduction in Zhuigaolai Village. The important insight is that the driving demonstration of village elites is the key to poverty alleviation in poor villages in less developed areas, and also the key to rural revitalization in the post-poverty alleviation era. Therefore, active and effective support policies should be formulated to cultivate and develop more rural elites, and it is needed to build a linkage mechanism of rural elites driving for poverty alleviation in which rural elites will drive and help all villagers, including poor villagers.