Machines replace laborers in cotton fields

URUMQI - Machines are replacing hundreds of thousands of migrant workers who pick cotton in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, the nation's biggest cotton production base.

At this time of year, Xinjiang's growers usually begin hiring workers to pick the crop. However, 116,000 hectares of cotton fields in Shawan county have already been harvested using machines.

"In the past, the cotton harvest lasted at least 45 days from October to November. Now, the machines can harvest a 15-hectare cotton field in a day," said Lin Hongru, head of Caohu village.