Tai'an peach industry provides boon for rural vitalization

As the harvest season for peaches arrives, farmers in Dongping county – located in Tai'an city in East China's Shandong province – have been busy picking, sorting, packaging and shipping flat peaches.

At the flat peach planting base in Xiaoli village in Dongping county, tempting ripe fruit hangs from the branches everywhere.

Thanks to the development of a local cooperative, the flat peach planting base now covers over 600 mu (40 hectares).

The income per mu has reached over 30,000 yuan ($4,177), which can increase the combined income of farmers by 1.5 million yuan and benefit over 100 locals.

There are five or six varieties of flat peaches that are cultivated and processed there, and they are available to be marketed from mid-June to the National Day and Mid-autumn Festival, achieving a staggered supply to the market.

The peaches are mainly sold to big cities like Beijing, Jinan and Qingdao. (Edited by Chen Chuxuan)

Farmers get busy picking the ripe peaches. [Photo by Li Chao for chinadaily.com.cn]

The newly picked flat peaches look scrumptious. [Photo by Li Chao for chinadaily.com.cn]