LUOYUAN, Fujian:In the living room of a courtyard-style home, Lin Maosheng's 3-year-old German shepherd dog "Little black" naps at his feet. On the walls are pictures of different fruits that illustrate the Taiwan Province farmer's unusual experiences over the past 5 years.

"Life is a journey, pursuing dreams. Now I have made mine come true," says Lin, a 64-year-old farmer who has enjoyed his life in East China's Fujian Province.

Lin shows off a new citrus fruit he has developed in a 30-acre orchard in Ludong village, Luoyuan County, 86 km from Fuzhou, capital city of Fujian.

This year, Lin reckons he will have made about 200,000 yuan ($26,700) from the new type of fruit, which he calls "fragrant lemon".

At the foot of Lotus Flower Mountain, over 5,000 fruit trees, including pears, peaches and citrus, are thriving. During the busy season, he usually hires several locals to help him.

Before arriving in Fujian in 1999, Lin was a successful farmer in Yongfeng village, Taizhong County, central Taiwan Province.

In 1984 he was honored as one of the "Best 10 farmers" for his corn yield. In 1988, he went to Japan to learn advanced farming techniques. From 1992, he was the governor of his village. His service won him friends and plaudits.

In 1999, Lin visited his friend in Fujian. At a dinner he met a local government officer. He told Lin that Fujian was seeking cooperation with farmers from Taiwan.

In 1997, the central government approved the establishment of a cross-Straits agricultural cooperation area in Fuzhou and Zhangzhou, in Fujian.

The hope was to integrate Taiwan's advanced farming techniques and management experience into the mainland market.

Hearing that farmers from Taiwan could get beneficial policies on land, tax and funding, Lin, then 56, made up his mind to begin a new journey.

In 1999, Lin brought his fine fruit seedlings to Yongtai County, in Fuzhou. In July 2002 he moved to Ludong village and settled down.

Fujian has a similar climate to Taiwan, but Lin had a nightmarish time to begin with as all of his seedlings died of drought in the first year.

"I woke up every morning around 3 am to stare at my still orchard, and struggled in sadness, loneliness and frustration."

The local government, however, helped out when Lin needed it and built a road to his orchard, set up an irrigation system and offered 300,000 yuan in assistance.

"The government helped me get through the bad times, which made me confident about moving forward," Lin says.

In the following years, Lin adjusted his planting methods and his determination finally bore fruit.

Lin is often invited to teach local farmers the techniques to improve yields and said more expertise could be introduced to the Chinese mainland from Taiwan.

In 2005, cross-Straits agricultural cooperation covered all of Fujian Province. By 2010, there will be 500 cooperative programs in Fujian, costing $600 million, according to the local government.

Mainland agriculture is bound to keep attracting farmers from across the Taiwan Straits in the future.

(China Daily 12/31/2007 page8)