Persimmons being sweet success to farmers in Shandong's Juye

In early winter, farmers in Gengzhuang village in Juye, Shandong's Heze, pick persimmons. The bright red persimmons hang from the branches like lanterns, swaying in the wind. The ripe fruit are quickly picked and sold to the Gengbing Professional Cooperative Society in the village.

"This year's persimmon harvest is another bumper crop. One tree can yield over 100 kilograms, selling for three to four hundred yuan ($55.26)," explained Geng Zonghuan, a villager busy with the harvest.

Gengzhuang village in Longbu town is famous for its martial arts and gengbing (persimmon cake). Gengbing, a traditional specialty of the village with a long history, is soft, sweet, and was once a tribute to the imperial court. It has become characteristic of the village and is a rural industry that Longbu town has been focusing on developing in recent years.

Gengzhuang village has planted 3,800 persimmon trees, mainly the unique variety of mirror-faced persimmon trees. To expand and strengthen this industry, the persimmon trees are planted uniformly by the village committee based on the principle of proximity.

In the Gengbing Professional Cooperative Society in Gengzhuang village, people are busy selecting, peeling, pitting, and sun-drying the persimmons. In the persimmon drying workshop, rows of peeled and sun-dried persimmons waiting to take shape are neatly arranged.

The gengbing produced through this all-natural sun-drying method have a sweet and soft texture, look frosted, and are a local favorite. It always sells out quickly. Nowadays, there are over 100 households in the village engaged in persimmon cultivation and persimmon cake processing, which has significantly promoted the increase in income and wealth of the villagers.

"Every year, persimmon cultivation and processing in the village amount to over 12,000 kg, mainly sold online through e-commerce platforms, bringing over 100,000 yuan in economic benefits to the villagers annually. This year is even better than last year, and in addition to increasing the income of the villagers, it is expected to generate three to four more thousand yuan in benefits for the village collective. These benefits will be used to create a beautiful countryside, making our hometown even more beautiful," said Geng Zongfei, Party secretary of Gengzhuang village, with great pride. (Edited by Xie Zhenzhen)

In the golden autumn, farmers in Gengzhuang village in Juye, Shandong's Heze, process persimmons. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]