Farmers find fortune with small-sized fruits
2025-06-12 19:06:41
By Yan Wanqin.
Yichang's Zhijiang area has cultivated a thriving fruit industry, producing yellow peaches, sand pears, watermelons, and grapes. With a planting area exceeding 70,000 mu (4,667 hectares), the annual yield exceeds 100,000 tons, generating over 1.5 billion yuan (US$208 million) in economic benefits.
Yichang's Zhijiang area has cultivated a thriving fruit industry, producing yellow peaches, sand pears, watermelons, and grapes. With a planting area exceeding 70,000 mu (4,667 hectares), the annual yield exceeds 100,000 tons, generating over 1.5 billion yuan (US$208 million) in economic benefits.
Farmers are sorting and packaging peaches. Photo by Zhou Chongyu.
In Qinjiabang Village, farmers are busy picking, sorting, and packing peaches for sale primarily in Hunan, Henan, Chongqing, Xinjiang, and Guizhou provinces.
Zhijiang has a peach planting history of over 500 years, with cultivation concentrated in Anfusi, Xiannü, and Dongshi towns. In recent years, Anfusi Town has diversified its peach varieties to meet market demand. It now cultivates more than 10,000 mu of peaches, including blood peaches, white peaches, nectarines, and yellow peaches. The Anfusi White Peach has received national geographical indication status.
"Our village grows over 2,000 mu of peaches, mainly blood, white, and yellow peaches. They can be sold from mid-May to early August, generating over 1 million yuan in revenue," said Fang Yong, deputy director of the Qinjiabang Village Committee.
Pu Guangcai, a fruit trader from Chongqing, purchases peaches from the village. "I've been buying Anfusi peaches for over 20 years. They're tender, juicy, sweet, and fragrant, and they sell well in Chongqing," he said. This year, he has already bought more than 40 tons of fresh peaches from Anfusi.
The town has also expanded the peach industry by hosting peach blossom and yellow peach picking festivals and producing canned yellow peaches, promoting integrated agricultural and tourism development to diversify local farmers' income.
In Zhijiang’s Qixingtai Town, watermelons have become a "sweet industry" for villagers. In Yanglinhu Village, Party leader Huang Jianmin was busy harvesting watermelons. "They're sweet, crisp, and delicious," he said.
Huang Jun, director of the town's agricultural service center, shared the secret to sweet watermelons: "We grow the Meidu variety — small but high in sugar content — with careful tending and organic fertilizers."
"Our watermelons are very popular among supermarkets in Yichang. This year’s yield is expected to reach 5,000 kilograms, generating 500,000 yuan for the community," Huang Jianmin added.
Zhao Jingyi and Zhou Chongyu contributed to this story.
