On Oct. 9, representatives of 20 overseas Chinese-language media outlets from around the world gathered in Mao County, Sichuan Province, and visited the dwarf apple nursery base of the local Yungeng Planting Cooperative. In late autumn, the highlands of northwest Sichuan are already filled with the fragrance of fruit; rows of neatly arranged dwarf apple trees are laden with red apples, showing visitors the vigorous vitality of this land.
Since its establishment in 2017, the Mao County Yungeng Planting Cooperative has held fast to its original aspiration of driving development in ethnic areas, taken root in local climatic and geographical conditions, and, supported by science and technology and grounded in quality, worked to build a green agricultural brand of its own. With the support of guidance units at all levels, the cooperative has repeatedly bred and tested fine new varieties and selected strains suited to local conditions, blazing a distinctly characteristic path of modern agriculture. Every sapling in the nursery embodies the painstaking efforts of researchers and fruit growers.
The cooperative has also expanded its planting scale by leasing and transferring land, driving the renewal of distinctive fruit varieties in the region and bringing the “Maowen Apple” brand back to prominence. Once renowned far and wide for its unique flavor, the Maowen apple is now regaining its luster through standardized production and brand-based operation; large-scale operation has both raised land-use efficiency and created many jobs for nearby farmers at their doorsteps, helping them increase their incomes and prosper.
The cooperative’s growth has powerfully boosted rural economic development in Mao County and indeed across northwest Sichuan. Relying on the “cooperative plus base plus farmers” model, scattered farmers have been organized, with unified supplies of saplings, technical guidance and sales channels, which has lowered operational risks and raised market competitiveness. The bright red apples have become the “fruit of prosperity” that boosts local incomes, and a vivid illustration of rural revitalization on the northwest Sichuan highlands.
Confronted with orchards full of harvest, the overseas Chinese media representatives raised their cameras to record the scene. They marveled that, after the Wenchuan earthquake, this land still bursts with vigorous vitality. The flowers that bloomed from the cracks have borne not only sweet fruit, but also a moving story of an ethnic region forging ahead through green development.