Guizhou's Tongren realizes rural vitalization through featured industries

Products made of Bayue melon are popular among consumers. [Photo/ddcpc website]

In Dashaba township, Shiqian county, Tongren, Southwest China's Guizhou province, Bayue melon used to be a wild fruit and became one of the pillar industries of the township in 2017. The essential oils, jam and tea made from the Bayue melon are in high demand on the market.

The township currently has 1,200 mu (80 hectares) of Bayue melon, and all 1,102 residents of the township's Renjiazhai village are involved in growing melons.

Bayue melons are sweet and have an output value of more than 1,000 kilograms per mu. However, due to their short shelf life, it is difficult to sell them while keeping them fresh.

To solve this problem, the township developed a jam product that can be stored for two years in a freezer at -25 C, and a tea product made from dried Bayue melon that can be stored for more than one year.

Hejiaba village develops agricultural tourism and food industries revolving around lotus. [Photo/ddcpc website]

At the township's Hejiaba village, the locals developed agricultural tourism relying on a 500-mu lotus-covered pond. The village receives up to 600 tourists per day and provides special dishes made of lotus, such as tofu, fish and noodles.

The village also established a cooperative to sell food products made of lotus and helped 120 impoverished families increase their incomes.

In recent years, Shiqian county has strengthened the development of featured industries such as tea, traditional Chinese medicine materials, fruit, vegetables and mushrooms.

Shiqian currently has nine county-level grain production demonstration bases of more than 500 mu each, 430,000 mu of tea gardens, 120,000 mu of orchards, and 75,000 mu of vegetables. The total output value of its agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery industries is 7.73 billion yuan ($1.15 billion).