Sun may set soon on beleaguered beekeepers

Although China is one of the world's largest exporters of honey, life is anything but sweet for the producers. The average age of the nation's apiculturists is rising and young people are shunning the industry, meaning that ancient skills and techniques may soon be lost forever. He Na reports from Yichun, Heilongjiang province.

Deep in the woods at the Wumahe State Forest Farm in Yichun, Heilongjiang province, a cotton tent was pitched alongside a narrow road that leads to the foot of a nearby mountain. About 60 beehives stood in front of the tent, and swarms of honeybees buzzed busily back and forth in the sunlight.

To city dwellers, a tent is just a temporary refuge, a place for rest and play, but for Yan Fengbo, 36, and his wife, Wang Wei, 32, their tent is their home for five months of every year.