A peel of green fortune on the banks of Yangtze River

CHONGQING, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- At an orchard on the southern bank of the Yangtze River in Fengjie, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, the scorching mid-August heat was softened by a zesty fragrance drifting on the breeze.

"These navel oranges grew up feeding on the water of the Yangtze River," said Gao Chengguo, vice Party chief of Yongle Township, a picturesque hillside town overlooking the river and the county center of Fengjie.

"Normally, the sweetness of oranges hovers around 12, but our navel oranges can reach as high as 18," Gao told Xinhua, pointing to the plump, still-green fruits hanging on trees that blanket nearly the entire slope of Daba Village, one of the county's main growing areas for this prized variety.

Currently, the village boasts over 12,000 mu (800 hectares) of navel orange trees, with a total output value of 180 million yuan (about 25.23 million U.S. dollars) in 2024. Last year, the average household income in the village reached an impressive 120,000 yuan.

From a once largely underused land to a rural settlement revitalized by a hillful of navel orange trees, Daba Village has come a long way with so many changes around it over the years.

Fengjie was once one of China's top coal-producing counties. Yet behind its coal-driven economy, the county's forest coverage had dropped below 30 percent, while 68 percent of its land was affected by soil erosion, as excessive resource exploitation severely damaged the local ecosystem.

The riverside Daba Village was no exception as hillsides were often bare, soil erosion was quite severe, and the village's main agricultural products were once limited to sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn.

In 2016, Fengjie shut down all coal mines with an annual output of less than 90,000 tonnes, embarking on a path of green transformation.

Daba turned to navel oranges. Despite a plantation history dating back to the 1980s, villagers used to stubbornly hold onto the idea that navel orange trees would take up the land better used for crops and reduce their income, and they never considered navel oranges a profitable venture.

Things changed when Fang Jiashu, former Party chief of the village, led fellow Party members to experiment with a new navel orange plantation model in their own yards. With the guidance of experts and the application of both green and advanced technologies, the industry quickly took off.

To protect the environment, the village uses insect-attracting lamps and boards instead of pesticides and encourages fruit growers to plant peas, clover and other ground cover crops in orchards to retain water and fix nitrogen. Thanks to these green practices, the village is able to reduce fertilizer use by more than 300 tonnes and pesticide use by about 4,000 liters each year.

To improve efficiency and boost yields, plant-protection drones were introduced, remote-controlled water pumps and piping were installed to allow villagers to manage orchard irrigation from home, and dedicated navel orange tracks were laid between the trees, greatly speeding up harvesting.

Huang Kangzhao is one of many villagers who left their hometown to seek work elsewhere and later returned to join the booming navel orange industry.

"I used to wander from place to place just to make ends meet. Now, by planting navel orange trees, I can earn more than 100,000 yuan a year, and things are getting so much better," said Huang, who also credited the income boost to the village's livestreamers like Fang Gang.

Fang, another former migrant worker from Daba Village, was drawn back home upon learning about its booming development and the opportunities it offered.

"By chance, I once hosted a livestream in the village, and the scenery in the background drew a large number of likes and comments," he said.

After the strike of fame, he wasted no time in promoting the navel oranges for his fellow villagers through his livestreams, ending up selling hundreds of tonnes of products a year via e-commerce.

In 2023, a WeChat mini-program was also launched to serve as a platform where anyone can apply to "adopt" navel orange trees in the village, and monitor and manage their growth and harvest every step of the way.

"Even if you're not a local, you can authorize our villagers via the mini-program to grow and harvest the oranges for you, and you can still track the whole process," Gao Chengguo said.

Daba Village has also leveraged the navel orange industry to boost tourism. New initiatives, such as homestays and fruit-picking experiences, drew around 25,000 visitors last year, with the total tourism revenue surging to 2 million yuan.

"We are not just selling navel oranges, but promoting the integrated development of agriculture, ecology and tourism. This perfectly embodies the idea that 'lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets,'" said Wu Min, deputy Party chief of the village. ■