Huili farmers reap the fruits of their endeavors

On Aug 25, Zhao Yuzhong and his staff picked the first crop of this year's bumper harvest of pomegranates. The second and third batches will be collected this month and in October. Then, after that, it will be another year before people get to enjoy the taste of the pomegranates from Zhao's plantation in Huili county, Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture, Sichuan province.

The pomegranate was originally brought to China by explorer and Silk Road pioneer, Zhang Qian, more than 2,000 years ago during the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD).

Now, with the fruit covering around 27,000 hectares, Huili county is the largest pomegranate producing region in China with an annual output of 700,000 tons.